Thurston County Public Works presented results of a pilot household hazardous waste reuse program and outlined plans to broaden outreach next year.

The pilot ran seasonally April 1 through Sept. 30 and restricted participation to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and county departments. Laura Clubber, Public Works planner, said nonprofits signed up via an online liability waiver; approved organizations could collect re-usable materials at the Hazardous Waste ("Hazo House") facility during regular business hours.

"This year was a very, slow year for this program getting off the feet," Laura Clubber said. "We only had 3 liability waivers completed and 2 visits to the program this year. 40 pounds were reused." Clubber also reported that the household hazardous waste web page received 6,543 visits and the program had seven Facebook posts that reached nearly 4,000 views.

Staff shared additional survey results: a contact form on the household hazardous waste page generated 25 completed forms; roughly 80% of respondents were residents, 50% said they had never visited the Hazardous Waste facility and 73% of respondents identified Olympia as their home community.

Environmental Health staff said they distributed outreach flyers to their networks and that staff who routinely contact schools and day cares could help broaden promotion. "Once we have maybe some expanded parameters for who can utilize the service, I think we'll be able to promote it more widely," Jennifer (Environmental Health) said.

Public Works described the pilot as intentionally limited to nonprofits for the coming year to control workloads while staff refines logistics and outreach responsibilities. Amanda (Public Works outreach) and Maggie Brown (education/outreach specialist) were named as leads for next year's outreach and data work. Staff and members discussed revisiting eligibility and operational months after a further review and during the county's upcoming solid waste management planning process.

Committee members and staff emphasized that facility operations were not harmed by the program. Clubber said operators screened materials and reported that donated items were generally usable. Gerald, the operations manager referenced in discussion, was described as an active participant in future implementation decisions.

The committee asked staff to return in December with more detailed outreach plans and to consider coordinated, countywide notification that includes environmental health partners and local nonprofit networks.

Ending: Public Works will continue the program next year as a focused nonprofit pilot while expanding outreach; staff will present recommendations for eligibility, months of operation and outreach methods in a future meeting.