Rethink Waste

Tools and resources to reduce waste at home or work!

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Waste prevention and reduction education for Deschutes County residents.

The Rethink Waste Project provides the tools and resources you need to help you reduce waste – and rethink the way you think about waste. From learning easy ways to reduce waste at home, such as composting and simple non-toxic alternatives, to paying attention to your purchasing habits and understanding what it means to buy local, we can all take steps towards the same goal: reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink.

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Schedule a Rethink Waste Presentation

Interested in scheduling a free Rethink Waste presentation about waste prevention including food waste reduction, recycling right, best reduce practices for your workplace, current events, or more? Virtual presentations are available! Please contact for more information.

We have $7,000 to give away!

We would love to help your waste reduction idea get off the ground with a $500-$2000 grant award to businesses, organizations, or individuals.

We’ve seen such an increase in single-use disposables since the start of the pandemic and we want to help you or your organization change that:

Do you have a drinking station but no way to safely wash cups? Perhaps you could apply to use the money for a dishwasher? Or get creative and make an outdoor dishwashing station like we have in the Kansas Avenue Learning Garden?
Do you see a lot of wasted food that could be avoided with a tumbling composter for your business?
Do you see a lot of TRASH being put into the RECYLING and vice versa? Apply for some good quality signage to help people know what goes where.
Money is good for infrastructure, staff time, other materials. Not sure? Ask!

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Rethink Waste Guide

Do you have your copy of the Rethink Waste Guide for Deschutes County? It has the tools and resources you need to help reduce your waste and rethink your relationship with stuff. Learn about composting, using nontoxic alternatives, and buying local. And take steps toward a community-driven goal: reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink.

RW Guide

Bienvenidos a la Guía de Rethink Waste!

“Rethink Waste” traducido al español significa reconsiderar los desechos. La guía Rethink Waste le ayudará a hacerlo. En ella encontrará las herramientas y los recursos que necesita para ayudar a reducir desechos y reconsiderar su relación con las cosas. Aprenda sobre el compostaje, uso de alternativas no tóxicas, hacer compras locales. Tome los pasos que lo dirijan hacia un objetivo comunitario: reducir, reutilizar, reciclar y reconsiderar.

La guía

Preventing Food Waste with Roommates

January 20, 2021

When you’re living with roommates, you probably don’t get the option to store your food like this food storage guide suggests. In my house, we have five people and one refrigerator. Each person gets their one shelf and sometimes the fridge is so packed it’s difficult to keep tabs on your food and not let […]

Wrap it up: we’re talking about the holidays.

January 4, 2021

Holidays happen all the time. So does gift giving. These tips are great for the great, grand holiday season we tend to celebrate in December each year, but they also work for thinking about gift giving year round. Birthdays, for example? Single-Use Wrapping Paper Alternatives Reuse your paper! One local family has been reusing wrapping […]

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Not sure what to do with items that aren't collected curbside? Think before you throw anything away. Use the search boxes below to find local businesses that reuse and recycle a wide variety of stuff.