More than half of what comes to King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill as “garbage” is actually recyclable material.
To help reduce waste and conserve resources, King County’s Solid Waste Division is again offering a free, seven-week program that teaches the art of waste prevention and recycling.
Program participants receive training on waste prevention, recycling, home composting, alternatives to household hazardous waste disposal, and solid waste impacts on climate change.
The Master Recycler Composter program training is open to all King County residents living outside the city of Seattle. In exchange for the free training, program graduates are expected to volunteer 40 hours of outreach in their communities, focusing on recycling and waste reduction topics.
Master Recycler Composter trainees become part of a select group of King County residents who work to improve the environmental quality of life by sharing with their communities what they have learned. The program seeks outgoing, engaging individuals who want to actively encourage waste reduction and recycling behaviors through public outreach opportunities planned by county staff.
Karen May, program coordinator for the Master Recycler Composter program, said King County has trained more than 600 volunteers since the program began in 1990.
“Those volunteers have provided more than 23,000 hours of teaching others about waste prevention, recycling and composting by staffing booths at community events, farmers markets and delivering classroom presentations.” May said.
Training sessions will run from Feb. 10 through March 24 at the Kent Centennial Center, 400 W. Gowe St. in Kent. Sessions are set for Thursday evenings, from 6:30-9 p.m. Two Saturday sessions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. will be a part of the training. Field trips featuring tours and workshops are set for Feb. 12 and March 5.
People with disabilities are encouraged to apply. The training site is wheelchair accessible and reasonable accommodations are available upon request. Please provide two weeks notice prior to the training if a sign language interpreter is needed.
Applications are due by Feb. 3, 2011. For more information or to obtain an application for the training, visit this web site or contact May at 206-296-4353 or at karen.may@kingcounty.gov. Special accommodations should be requested by Jan. 20, 2011.
