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City proclaims North Bay Zero Waste Week; Zero Waste Sonoma outlines solar‑panel recycling and Windsor HHW site
Summary
Council proclaimed Oct. 18 as Zero Waste Week and heard from Leslie Lukasz of Zero Waste Sonoma about repair fairs, household hazardous waste services, a solar‑panel recycling pilot (12 events, >1,000 panels), and plans to site a primary HHW collection facility in Windsor.
The Sonoma City Council on Sept. 29 declared Oct. 18, 2025, part of North Bay Zero Waste Week and received a presentation from Zero Waste Sonoma about local waste‑reduction programs and new collection infrastructure.
Leslie Lukasz, executive director of Zero Waste Sonoma, told the council the organization coordinates recycling and reuse outreach across ten jurisdictions and described programs the city will host during Zero Waste Week, including clothing swaps and a repair fair that offers free fixes for electronics, lamps and bicycles. “We did 12 events for the residents and the residents brought us over 1,000 solar panels that we properly recycled,” Lukasz said, describing a recent grant‑funded pilot to collect and recycle photovoltaic panels that cannot be disposed in a landfill.
Lukasz also said the joint powers authority is developing a primary household hazardous‑waste (HHW) collection facility on a four‑acre site in Windsor to improve convenience for residents in underserved corridors and that the agency received more than $3 million in grants for edible‑food rescue. She said Zero Waste Sonoma produces a multilingual recycling guide and operates free mattress and electronics collections.
Councilmembers asked about timing and coordination with the city’s local hauler; Lukasz said Zero Waste Sonoma works closely with local haulers and that Windsor facility design is approximately 30% complete and will proceed through permitting.
What’s next: the city will host Zero Waste Week activities, and staff and the organization will continue to coordinate on the Windsor HHW facility and related grant‑funded programs.
