– Submitted by Sandy Bishop on behalf of the Solid Waste Alternatives Project

By May 15, Lopezians need to submit a petition to the county council with 550 signatures of registered voters favoring a Lopez Island Solid Waste Disposal District. The council has asked for these signatures as a way of gauging support for this idea before they put the effort into forming a Lopez Island SWDD.

There are two meetings you need to know about:

An organizational meeting will be held Monday, April 9, 3:45-5:15 p.m. at the Lopez Library meeting room, to discuss the budget and look at each line item and agree on an amount of tax to support the SWDD. There will also be a chance to organize the petition drive. An average of 16 signatures each day for 35 days is needed to meet the goal of 550 registered voters.

On Wednesday, April 11, 7-8:30 p.m. at Grace Hall there will be a general informational meeting about the plan for local control now that the Port of Lopez has withdrawn. There will be slides describing the difference between the county, port and the SWDD/SWAP plan. Find out how the SWDD/SWAP plan will be $100,000 less expensive than the other plans.Petitions and clipboards will be available.

The meeting will also be a time for Lopezians to voice their opinions and thoughts for a way forward.

Here’s what some Lopezians are saying:

“This is a great opportunity for our island to be creative and do the right thing.  A small tax a year and lower fees feels okay to me.  By taking charge we can put our island values to work …. thank you SWAP.” – Sheila Metcalf

“I look forward to working with the whole community, under this new disposal district idea, to make the Lopez dump something we can all be proud of again.” – Ed Kilduff

“The dump is a jewel, it is part of the soul of Lopez.” – Tim Kent

“The minimal tax being proposed is a small price to pay for local control over an improved and environmentally responsible way to handle our waste stream.” – Mac Langford

“Driving north of Mudbay Road I started thinking about how the island would change if there were regular garbage truck pickups.  I could visualize the garbage cans as I drove along at the end of each long road.  I heard the loud noises from the garbage collection, I saw dangerous encounters between frequently stopping trucks on our narrow roads and other traffic. I also saw that we lost a community center. I want us to have our own garbage center with us working toward the goal of zero waste.” – Patty Ward

For more info, email turtle@rockisland.com or call 468-3654.