If you believe the stereotypes, Washingtonians love two things: the planet, and being passive aggressive. Apparently, neither of these are true. Because we litter, and we don't call it in when we see other people doing it. more ›

Not that kind of pew. It's a Pew Charitable Trusts report on how major cities are handling deficits, and Seattle, we think it's fair to say, is full of fiscal win: our one-year deficit of $44 million is just 5 percent of our general fund. For context, L.A. and Chicago stand at 12 and 13 percent, respectively. For even more context, we're tied with Baltimore, so don't get cocky. "Proposed service cuts are mostly targeting libraries, recreation facilities and aspects of trash collection." It probably makes budgetary sense, but it's really unfortunate, symbolically, that we're cutting library hours and increasing the size of our police force. more ›

The sly movin' Parks Department decided to remove nearly 400 trash cans from city parks. Hoping to save $160,000, they encouraged park-goers to embrace a "pack in-pack out" policy. Now they are considering the use of $4,000 solar-powered compacting trash cans that don't need to be emptied as often, alleviating the cost of constantly taking out the trash. more ›

You can tell it’s almost summer because people are gleefully filling the sidewalks with the trash of a consumer society and, in a enlightened spirit of philanthropy, marking "free" on it. There was a time, not so long ago, when putting out a lightly used item you no longer needed was a kind of urban recycling. Who among us hasn’t grabbed a chair or desk from the street? Who?! more ›

Last week we held our first guest blog post contest, and the winner was LaFemmeMonkita! We sent her to the new Croc to see Dr. Dog. We chose her post because...well, not that it was a crowded field the first time out, but what could be more Seattlest than posting about recycling...and its olfactory drawbacks? Not much! Hope you enjoy it. more ›

Sounds like the city is listening, after all. At a press conference this afternoon, Nickels announced changes to the official no-salt policy: in some, limited circumstances, salt will be used on the streets of Seattle to make life easier in the snow. We thought this day would never come. In addition, the city is looking into giving rebates to residents whose trash pick-up was skipped two weeks in a row. When more information is available, we'll post it! more ›

After a committee vote yesterday, the full City Council is set to decide on Monday if Seattle will adopt a 20-cent fee for plastic bags at grocery, drug, and convenience stores, as well as a ban on polystyrene food and drink containers. If passed, the fee and ban will go into effect on January 1, 2009. Stores that use the plastic foam containers to package meat will have a year to figure out an alternative method. (May we suggest butcher paper? We imagine that is how it got its name.) While it might be annoying to get charged a few bucks for plastic bags after a big shopping trip, it will hopefully remind us to always bring a reusable bag, which is a benefit to everyone. more ›

According to the P-I, Honolulu's thinking about sending island-style trash our way. Walt Disney doesn't really tolerate landfill stench wafting over its new resorts, and there's only so much space on Hawaii for garbage (Walt Disney resort memorabilia aside), so companies are in the process of bidding for the privilege of hauling the refuse to a new mainland location. It's possible that Washington could be the trash's final resting place. more ›