Two Bainbridge Island groups were recipients of Kitsap County Solid Waste Division’s annual Earth Day awards this month.

Taking home the prize for Excellence in Waste Reduction and Recycling was Bainbridge Island Zero Waste, a six-year-old program of Sustainable Bainbridge.

At large community events such as Bainbridge’s Fourth of July and Harvest Fair, Zero Waste sets up and monitors waste stations in order to divert, on average, 75 percent of discards away from landfills and into recycling and compost efforts. This all-volunteer group also educates the community on waste reduction and repurposing through entertainment, like the recent, wildly successful fashion Trashion Show; through outreach, such as their monthly booth at the farmers market; and through promotion of a tableware lending library for big parties.

Boy Scout Troop 1564 was recognized as a Partner in Environmental Education.

For the past 20 years, this boy-run troop has collected in one-day’s time about a thousand Christmas trees from residents in early January. They then run them through a chipper, producing wood chips that cover island trails. This tree recycling serves as both a community service and a fundraiser for the troop.

Toni Fuller of Kitsap County Solid Waste presented the awards at the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 11. The awards recognize individual citizens, organizations, schools and businesses for their distinguishing environmental programs or projects.