Solid Waste

Nantucket, Mass. is a very comparable island community two hours off the coast, a two-hour drive from a major metropolitan community of several million people.  The island is highly seasonal in nature, relies on a tourist economy, and runs into the same isolation conditions we do with regards to shipping everything on or off the island.

Here's something interesting to know: 

San Juan County Solid Waste budget: $3.8 million

Nantucket Solid Waste budget: $8.2 million

SJC population: 15,000

Nantucket population: 10,000

SJC solid waste spending per person: $253

Nantucket solid waste spending per person: $820

SJC diversion rate for reusables, recyclables and compostables: less than 25%

Nantucket diversion rate for reusables, recyclables and compostables: more than 75%

So they spend three times as much money as we do, and the result is three times as much diversion.  

If we're really going to have a change in our solid waste programs here on the island, it's going to have to be a paradigm shift...

Are you willing to sacrifice an extra $500 to sustain our solid waste systems?