Many options for your yard waste, but no burning allowed

Published 1:30 am Thursday, June 15, 2023

By now, you’ve probably heard that the annual Stage 1 burn ban has gone into effect.

The King County Fire Chiefs Association, in partnership with the King County Fire Marshal, has implemented a Stage 1 burn ban for King County. Vashon Island Fire & Rescue has upped the island’s fire danger signs to yellow, indicating high fire risk. So, for some months to come, there will be no burning of yard debris, although recreational fires and outdoor grills are okay. We asked the folks at Zero Waste Vashon (ZWV) to provide some advice on burn pile alternatives.

“Vashonites can use this as an opportunity to take a big step towards fighting air pollution and healing our planet,” said Steve Bergman of ZWV. “The annual burn ban is a great time to get started with composting instead of the currently banned smoky, smelly, and potentially dangerous burn piles for yard and other green waste.”

Bergman offered several suggestions for community composting and do-it-yourself home composting.

• Take your yard waste to the King County transfer station on Westside Highway and it will be taken by Cedar Grove to be transformed into useful compost. You pay only $18 for up to 320 pounds — an average fully-loaded pickup of yard waste. Find out more here.
• If you don’t have a pickup truck or trailer, share with a neighbor who has a vehicle suitable for hauling, and combine your yard waste loads into one vehicle. Sharing a load also helps save money! You can also consider hiring a local landscaping crew to gather and haul it away for you.
• Rent a chipper to turn branches into wood chips for mulch or compost. Chipping can turn large piles of brush into much smaller piles of usable mulch.
• Use this annual burn ban to motivate you towards a better way than burn piles. Get started with composting at home. It’s cheap and it’s good for the planet. Plus, you get free mulch and fertilizer for your yard or garden that generated yard waste in the first place.
• If you choose home composting, it can be as easy as gathering a pile and putting a tarp over it. ZWV has a composting resource page including a great backyard compost seminar series featuring island compost success stories.
• The King County Solid Waste Division experts and ZWV recommend the Garden Hotline website or phone number for great advice.
• Puget Sound Clean Air Agency has a web page explaining why it’s important for your and your neighbor’s health to find alternatives to burn piles here.

NERO Service Offer: Book A Preparedness Expert Now

It’s official. It’s summer. It’s a time for getting together, maybe for block parties and cookouts and lots of other reasons to enjoy outdoor time together, especially with current COVID rates at low levels.

Together times make great opportunities to think about what it means to be neighbors. So, the VashonBePrepared Neighborhood Emergency Response Organization (NERO) program has a new offer for you. After all, our motto is Neighbors Helping Neighbors — the core of our preparedness mission.

We’ll send a preparedness expert to your next gathering. We’ve done this sort of thing for years as we’ve helped neighborhoods organize and prepare to help each other during emergencies — Vashon has 270+ registered NEROs and counting in this homegrown program. It’s fun and we love doing it!

We’re all out embracing the NERO neighborhood get-together concept this summer. We’ll work with you on what your group might like us to cover, and we can be as brief (or as detailed) as you like. The main thing is to help folks get started with one of these informal NERO organizations and to help sustain or revive NEROs that have already signed up.

If your group is interested in adding a home and neighborhood emergency preparedness expert to your block party, picnic, or other neighborhood gatherings, email your contact information and what kind of help you are seeking to NERO@vashonbeprepared.org. We’ll bring along some free preparedness items for your go-kits! Summer calendars are getting booked up. Act now to improve the chances we’ll be able to schedule one of our experts for your event.

Gadget Moment: Get a Multi-Tool for Your Go Kit

We’re starting a series on gadgets that will help you survive and thrive when disaster strikes.

One of our must-have items in a go kit is a multi-tool. These tools have evolved in many ways since the days of Swiss Army knives. There are hundreds of choices on the market, from tiny and light to big and heavy. You’ll use your multi-tool for everything from opening boxes to cutting cord, or fixing that reluctant flashlight. You’ll want to make sure yours has a knife, pliers, straight and Phillips screwdrivers, bottle opener, and scissors. They can include many more options, but those are the basics. Websites abound with reviews for you to consider.

COVID Basic Risk Level

VashonBePrepared’s risk level tool is based mostly on COVID hospitalization rates. Some other factors are also evaluated, including COVID virus levels in wastewater in our region.

At the Basic Risk Level, it is recommended to wear an N95 mask indoors in public if you are exposed to COVID or at risk for health or other reasons, or live with or spend time with someone at high risk.

Keep vaccinations up to date, including boosters. Maintain good ventilation at home and at work, and avoid those with suspected or confirmed COVID.

If exposed to COVID, wear a mask in public and avoid contact with those at high risk for 10 days.

Always home-test if you have symptoms. If you test positive, isolate for at least five days and until you test negative. If immunocompromised, discuss additional prevention actions with your healthcare provider.