The County’s Recycling Coordinator, Dave Peters, accepted he award for “Best Large Government Program,” at the Washington State Recycling Association’s annual conference in Yakima last month.

The Solid Waste Division’s objective was to inform the public about a variety of alternatives to burning of yard and land clearing debris. Early activities included working with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency (CAA) to develop the “Outdoor Burning is Out... it’s the law” campaign to provide information to the public about the permanent burn ban. The efforts included development of a web site, www.kitsapburnban.org, which features burn ban boundaries and information about the law.

“Another important element of our public education program is a series of seven 30-second television public service announcements that focus on health reasons for choosing alternatives to burning vegetation,” commented Peters. He explained that since people with asthma and other lung and heart diseases are adversely affected by outdoor burning. Another feature of the multimedia campaign was testimonials from asthma sufferers ranging from Seattle Seahawk player Chad Brown to two local children.

Other PSAs included a humorous spoof on the American Gothic painting that features Bainbridge Island farmers chopping waste and composting vegetative matter, a Viking demonstrating the change in paradigm from burning waste to recycling, and medical expert Dr. Greg Redding, Director of Pulmonary medicine for Children’s Hospital.

Other public information efforts included a mailing to 83,000 household affected by the burn ban, a public events display, Master Composter training and back yard composting classes, compost demonstration sites, a truckload compost bin sale, display ads in local print media, presentations to the Homebuilders Association. and a link from the County’s Web site

For more information, call (360) 337-5777.