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03/31/2009: "CC Tours Orcas Transfer Station"

(Council at Orcas Transfer Station's "The Exchange")

The County Council started their Monday meeting on Orcas with a tour of the local transfer station, including “The Exchange”, which is the Orcas example of a “Trash To Treasures” program that has been proposed for San Juan Island’s new transfer station -although in an up-graded and, hopefully, within a fully enclosed building.

Public Works Director Joh Shannon led the council members on a tour of the site, pointing out some of the issues that will be addressed if they do a master plan for improving the site; but until there is money made available, he suggested things will have to remain as they are.

One area of interest for those from the San Juan Island was the famous Exchange, where ostensibly reusable items are either dropped off by the public, or pulled out of the waste stream by staff, and then made available to the public.










The tour showed San Juan Island is not the only Public Works facility that is in trouble and in need of maintenance and upgrading. Some of the same problems cited by the Department of Ecology at the SJI Transfer Station as being non-compliant were in evidence at the Orcas site. As for The Exchange, it may have existing conditions that would be of interest to Electrical, Health, and Labor & Industry inspectors, as well as those from DOE.

The amount of “stuff” was stored in a building that one of the council member noted “looked as though it too was constructed out of re-used materials,” and added “That’s a good thing’” The building held only a part of the total items, and the rest spilled out into the woods behind, and next to, the building. Some of it protected by tents, but much simply exposed to weather, and in obviously poor condition.

The Orcas residents in attendance all voiced support for the program, noted it is very popular and said they too used it; although when asked, two of them said “but I would not want it next to my property...”