The volunteers of Bainbridge Island Zero Waste, a program of Sustainable Bainbridge, recently received the Washington State Recycling Association’s 2018 Nonprofit of the Year award.

The goal of BI Zero Waste is to reduce landfill waste by encouraging waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting. Volunteers run a popular tableware lending library; hold special recycling collections, such as the upcoming Styrofoam collection at Bay Hay & Feed on July 21 and July 22; work with different institutions and businesses on resource management; and oversee discard stations at public events, such as the Fourth of July, to divert 75 percent of the tossed material to recycling and compost.

BIZW also runs the crowd-pleasing upcycled fashion Trashion Show.

To address ocean plastic pollution, Zero Waste’s current initiative is to encourage restaurants to switch to paper straws and serve only upon patron request.