New service starts in Bellingham to pick up hard-to-recycle items such as plastic film
A Seattle company has started a recycling and reuse service in Bellingham for items that aren’t being accepted in curbside recycling bins.
Items are either recycled and turned into new things or given to Whatcom nonprofits that need them so they can be reused, Ridwell said.
People using the subscription service pay $12 to $16 a month to have a core set of items picked up every two weeks from their homes. Those are plastic film — think grocery bags and Amazon envelopes — batteries, light bulbs and clothing and shoes.
There also is a rotating category that benefits community groups. Currently, Ridwell said it is picking up non-perishable food and diapers for the Bellingham Food Bank and electronics and housewares for Habitat for Humanity and Lydia’s Place.
In the future, Ridwell plans to collect art supplies and corks for Allied Arts and women’s clothing and new toiletries for the YWCA, the company said.
At least 500 people in Bellingham have signed up for the new service, Ridwell founder Ryan Metzger told The Bellingham Herald on June 10.
Signups started in Bellingham in June with plans to expand to other parts of Whatcom County.
Customers put the items being collected into separate bags that Ridwell provides.
“We have members who do that because they care about the environment and they care about the future,” Metzger said.
The customers pay for Ridwell on top of what Bellingham households already pay for curbside recycling, which is included in their Sanitary Service Co. bill for trash pickup.
The city of Bellingham, through its contract with the company, requires SSC to provide curbside recycling.
And while places in the community already accept items that Ridwell will pick up, it requires people to search for those services and then, likely, drop off those items themselves.
SSC, for example, will accept plastic film dropped off at its Bellingham facility at a cost of $5 per 30 gallons. And Whatcom County’s Disposal of Toxics Facility will accept old paint or fluorescent bulbs for free at their Airport Drive space.
Interest in conservation
New member Ronalee Kincaid likes that Ridwell comes to her for those hard-to-recycle household items.
“That’s a huge benefit. Being able to just put it on my porch and they pick it up,” the 76-year-old Bellingham resident said, adding that it’s difficult to find places to take items such as old fabric past its use and corks, for example.
Kincaid’s yard is a certified backyard wildlife sanctuary and Ridwell’s services, which her daughter uses in Seattle, is an extension of her interest in conservation. She likes that Ridwell has found the places where their items can be recycled.
“They’ve just gone that extra mile,” she said.
Ridwell said it works with local and domestic reuse and recycling partners that it has vetted to help keep household goods out of landfills.
For example, Ridwell said its plastic film goes to Trex, a Virginia-based company that turns it into composite lumber for decks, benches and playground sets.
Metzger said plastic film has consistently been the greatest concern for Ridwell’s customers.
Formed in 2018, Ridwell now has more than 33,000 members in Seattle, Tacoma and Portland.
International recycling cut
Metzger said that in some ways the company started in reaction to the decision by China, once a major buyer of the world’s and Washington state’s recyclables, to sharply cut back on what it would accept. The made the industry uncertain, a situation that has been compounded by other Asian countries following China’s decision.
“We’re still waiting for the domestic markets to adjust to the fact that some of the overseas markets, primarily in Asia, are no longer taking recyclable material from the U.S., and really anywhere else in the world, and it’s been really volatile,” Ted Carlson, former Bellingham Public Works director and current general manager for SSC, said to the Bellingham City Council on Feb. 22.
U.S. cities and counties have struggled to find new markets and, in some, recycling has ended up in landfills.
“We think we can make a difference and make new opportunities,” Metzger said.
For those who wonder if their recycling goes where Ridwell says it does, Metzger encouraged them to ask.
“Transparency is critical. There’s not enough of it in the industry. We understand those questions and we embrace them,” he said.
The city of Bellingham doesn’t regulate the reuse and recycling services offered by Ridwell.
“We welcome Ridwell to the community,” said Eric Johnston, Bellingham’s Public Works director, adding that it “may be of value to some residents.”
Cutting single-use plastics
Concerned about single-use plastics, such as those used for to-go restaurant orders and small plastic shampoo bottles at motels, the City Council has enacted a ban on most of them. It goes into effect on effect on July 31, 2022.
Officials wanted to reduce the amount of plastic going into the waste stream given the difficulty in recycling.
“With the recent passage of regulations regarding single-use plastics and the city of Bellingham’s Climate Action Plan, renewed focused is being placed on reduction of plastics,” Johnston said. “Frankly, the easiest plastics to recycle are the ones not created in the first place.”
Information on Ridwell is at ridwell.com.
This story was originally published June 21, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
