Welcome to the REthink Series!

June 15, 2020

Plastic waste, food waste, and other kinds of debris have become a huge problem in our world today. Recycling only addresses a fraction of the waste we generate; most of those products and materials go to landfills and even worse, end up in the ocean. Waste of all kinds, especially single-use plastics, are impacting the health of our environment and our communities.

To help inspire action and mitigate this issue, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, Olympic National Park, Clallam County Waste Prevention Program, North Olympic Library System, Washington CoastSavers, Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, The Salmon Center (Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group) and other organizations have partnered to encourage the local community to find creative and sustainable answers to reduce their waste.

Join us in watching these fun and creative videos to learn more about how we impact the environment, how to make fun crafts, and how you can become more sustainable!

Join us on Thursday, June 18th at 5:45pm to play Trashed Trivia! Questions will be based off the videos below, so pay close attention and you might win some prizes! Please register for the trivia here.

Join our partners at Olympic National Park to learn how to repurpose ocean trash to art.

From Scraps to Gold, Black Gold That Is. Have you ever thought about what happens to your food after you throw it away? Go on a journey with the Clallam County Waste Prevention Specialist to explore different composting methods.

Recycle right, it matters! Sometimes people think that if something has the ‘chasing arrows’ recycling symbol on it that it is recyclable, and unfortunately that is not true in Clallam County. Find out what types of items are accepted with the Clallam County Waste Prevention Program and how to recycle properly to make sure your efforts are not going to waste!

Earth Focus is a 3-part discussion podcast series between student hosts and guests with environmental backgrounds by GZ Radio and SHS EnAct. Each episode will start a conversation over one of three environmental topics: Pollution, Climate Change/Ocean Acidification, and Environmental Justice.

This episode, student hosts Benjamin Mousseau, Kenneth Tran, and Mashani Coleman ask questions and discuss Pollution with Program Coordinator for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Washington Coastsavers, James Roubal, Laurie Devereaux from the City of Bellevue Stream Team, and PhD student for the UW Atmospheric Sciences, Michael S. Diamond. Throughout the episode, they talk through what pollution is, its impact on public health and safety, its damage to ecosystems, solutions to the global issue, and more.

Albatross are marine birds who nest once a year in the remote Hawaiian Islands. They mainly feed on squid and fish eggs that come to the surface. Marine plastic is one of the most abundant marine debris items found in our oceans. Learn how Albatross and affected by marine plastics from NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

Turn Trashed Clothes into Repurposed Treasures. Did you know that nearly 21 tons of consumer products like textiles, furniture and electronics are trashed in Clallam County in an average year? Many of these items could have avoided that fate by being fixed, recycled, reused, donated or repurposed! Join Terry, a local crafter, as she gives worn jeans another chance at life as a cute and useful bag. Step-by-step instructions will be provided. Materials needed include: worn pants, a belt or ribbon (long enough to encircle and tie around the size bag you decide to make), scissors and a sewing machine.

The AmeriCorps members at the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group will be exploring the Salmon Center’s Farm at Water’s Edge, a fully functioning organic garden situated next to a restored estuary habitat. We will be teaching viewers how we reuse and repurpose materials on our farm to help reduce waste.

The Puget Soundkeeper Stewardship Team will be teaching viewers about microplastics-specifically microfibers from our clothing entering our waters through the washer. We will go over how to identify what clothing items contain plastics followed by tips on how to reduce these fibers from entering our waters.

Join Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary to learn how to create your own origami albatross using recycled materials (scrap paper, magazine pages, left over construction paper, etc.) This video compliments the albatross bolus dissection video that OCNMS offers, which is posted above. While folding your own albatross you can learn fun facts about these sea birds while doing a hands on craft at using easily accessible materials in your own home.

Make an Animal Plant Holder with Gabby: Please join NOAA Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary​ for this free quick home craft project to rethink disposable items and to prevent marine debris at the source.

Recommended supplies to reuse:
Plastic cup or bottle (soft drink, milk jug , or similar), scissors, felt-tip marker, paint, paint brush, rag for cleanup.