Solid Waste Action Committee (SWAC)

History

The Solid Waste Action Committee (SWAC) was formed to address the challenges of changing regulations within the U.S. recycling landscape. We provided community education on recycling topics through our Trash Talk column, which appeared in section A of the Herald & News on the last Wednesday of every month.
SWAC worked with Waste Management and REACH, Inc. to demystify and streamline recycling in the Klamath Basin and enhance access to solid waste management resources, like “free dump days.” Please contact us to inquire about current SWAC projects and how you can participate.

Background

The global market for recyclables has changed drastically since 2018 when China enacted its “National Sword” policy, which bans the import of most plastics and other materials that were previously accepted from nations around the world. To address the new challenges this historic change brought about, and to continue to address topics like solid waste, recycling, single-use, and Extended Producer Responsibility, Sustainable Klamath created the Solid Waste Action Committee (SWAC). SWAC helps to educate our community through our Trash Talk series, which is published in section A of the Herald & News on the last Wednesday of every month and across Sustainable Klamath’s Facebook page.

In February 2020, SWAC performed public outreach, hosting a table at the Winter Wings festival at Oregon Tech. The event was a success with over 500 attendees. The children loved our “Habitat Clean-Up Bingo” game, which taught them about common hazards birds may find in their environment (like plastic bottle caps and balloons) and how to contribute to a clean-up solution. The Covid-19 pandemic effectively cancelled our plans for the Migratory Bird Festival, Earth Day, and Sustainapalooza, but SWAC anticipates future events and looks forward to the return of in-person education and action. In the meantime, SWAC will continue to discover helpful information and make it available to our community in a contactless, virtual format.

SWAC strives to demystify sustainability topics like recycling and provide useful resources and actionable opportunities to enhance the health and harmony of all life in the Klamath Basin. Please contact us to learn more about our current projects and discover how you can get involved.

On this page you will find the following valuable resources:

  • Waste Management Curbside Recycling Guide
  • Other Materials to Recycle or Reuse in the Klamath Basin List (items and drop-off locations)
  • Don’t Bag Recyclables: Why Waste Management wants your recyclables in a “loose load”
  • Mixed Curbside Residential Recycling Myths
  • How to Compost
  • Request for Extended Producer Responsibility form letter to a Producer/Company
  • Request for Extended Producer Responsibility form letter to a Representative/Senator
  • Links to sustainability documentaries, e-newsletters, books, other resources, and hot topics

Disclaimer: while we do our best to keep these resources up to date, the details may change without notice.

Curbside Recycling Guide 2019 (Waste Management)

Miscellaneous Recycling Info Sheet (Waste Management)

Free Your Recyclables (Waste Management)

Curbside Recycling Myths (Waste Management)

How to Compost (PBS)

EPR Form Letter – Producer or Company (Alissa of SK)

EPR Form letter – Government Representative (Alissa of SK)

Links to sustainability resources

Documentaries

Kiss the Ground (2020)

Available to stream on Netflix. Order a 24hr streaming period for other platforms and devices at https://kissthegroundmovie.com.

Plastic Wars (2020)

Watch for free on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dk3NOEgX7o

The Story of Plastic (2019)

Official Website and trailer: https://www.storyofplastic.org/. Available to stream through purchase or community screening

Plastic China (2016)

Official Website and trailer: https://www.cnex.tw/plasticchina. Available to stream, purchase required.

E-newsletters

  • WasteDive.com
    • Waste Dive delivers the latest waste and recycling intel straight to your inbox. Click “sign up” to receive daily or weekly newsletters

Books

  • This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein (Non-Fiction, 2014)
    • The most important book yet from the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core “free market” ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems.
  • Ecotopia by Earnest Callenbach (Fiction, 1975)
    • A novel both timely and prophetic, Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia is a hopeful antidote to the environmental concerns of today, set in an ecologically sound future society. Ecotopia was founded when northern California, Oregon, and Washington seceded from the Union to create a “stable-state” ecosystem: the perfect balance between human beings and the environment. Now, twenty years later, this isolated, mysterious nation is welcoming its first officially sanctioned American visitor: New York Times-Post reporter Will Weston.

Hot topics to research for yourself

  • The Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (Introduced in Congress in February, 2020)
  • Companies that are going plastic-free – your preferred brands and beyond
  • Zero-Waste: what is it, and how to do it
  • Recycling/waste management during the COVID-19 pandemic