WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter (MRC) Volunteers

The WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter (MRC) volunteers will host two Leaf Exchange events this fall: Nov. 1 & Nov. 22, at the Floral Park Sustainability Project at the corner of South Tower Avenue and Floral Street in Centralia. Hours will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bring your leaves in plastic lawn and leaf bags or garbage bags, and drop them off with volunteers during the event. The Leaf Exchange is being offered for free, but the MRC volunteers, who are putting on the program in partnership with the Lewis County Solid Waste Utility, will accept donations to support their community programs and outreach projects. No other yard debris or garbage will be accepted, and the event cannot accept any fresh leaves from black walnut trees as they contain a toxin that should not be included in your compost.

If you are a gardener in need of healthy leaves for your garden, stop by and pick up bags of leaves. Leaves will be available on a first come, first served basis, while supplies last. Volunteers will be available to answer your questions about composting or mulching your garden with leaves.

For more information on the event, please call 360-740-1216 or email jason.adams@lewiscountywa.gov.

The MRC Tool Bucket Library is now open, accepting members, and checking out tools! Please visit www.mrctoolbucketlibrary.org to learn about becoming a member, volunteering, and tools available for checkout.

The WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter (MRC) Volunteers received a Public Participation Grant from the Department of Ecology to help our community practice waste reduction by supporting a repair economy. They have opened the MRC Tool Bucket Library at the Floral Park Sustainability Project, E. 104 Floral St. (at the corner of South Tower Avenue and Floral Street), in Centralia. Check out the MRC Tool Bucket Library website at www.mrctoolbucketlibrary.org. They are looking for more volunteers to help operate the MRC Tool Bucket Library.

The Tool Library is just like a regular library, but with tools instead of books! The MRC Tool Bucket Library will provide free or low-cost access to shared tools and other durable goods and encourages self-reliance, re-use, repair, and reduced consumption.

Here's a link to a video that explains both the Repair & Sustainability Fairs and the MRC Tool Bucket Library: https://youtu.be/IQQbrZbtpO4

Here is a brochure that explains more about the MRC Tool Bucket Library.

Tool library members can borrow tools they might only need to use once or twice a year, instead of every family purchasing tools they will use infrequently and storing them (or the fact that there are families that might not be able to afford the tools).

Donations are accepted to support the ongoing operation of the MRC Tool Bucket Library. The Master Recycler Composters of Lewis County are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Please call 360-520-3206 or email mrctoolbucketlibrary@gmail.com, if you have questions about the project, or are interested in volunteering.

Repair & Sustainability Fairs:

The WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter (MRC) volunteers are their 2026 Repair & Sustainability Fairs for the Chehalis-Centralia area and Morton.
At these events, volunteers will help you with repairs on clothing and textiles, small appliances, bikes, lawnmowers, and sharpening garden tools. At previous events, the following items were repaired: a drill, a rototiller, a lawnmower, a stuffed owl, a lamp, bicycles, a serger sewing machine, a computer, several items of clothing, and several gardening tools and knives were sharpened. Here's a link to a video that explains both the Repair & Sustainability Fairs and the MRC Tool Bucket Library: https://youtu.be/IQQbrZbtpO4

If you have something around your home that needs to be fixed, don't throw it out and bury it in the landfill forever. Bring it to one of the 2026 events. Volunteers will be on hand to do their best to make the repairs and teach you how to do it in the process. Some community members will also be on-site offering demonstrations, so you can learn and improve your knowledge as a do-it-yourselfer.

Repairs will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The fixer volunteers will try their best to help you repair the item, or give you recommendations on next steps, but there are no guarantees. Please click here for a list of FAQs about Repair & Sustainability Fairs.

Additional activities at the events include:

• Information booths to help you live a more sustainable life
• A "Stuff Swap" table of gently used items that people can take home, or leave something for someone else
• Kids' activities

For more information please call Jason Adams, coordinator for the WSU Lewis County MRC Program, at 360-740-1216 or email jason.adams@lewiscountywa.gov.

The Master Recycler Composter (MRC) Volunteer Program is a collaboration between Washington State University Extension and the Lewis County Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Division. The MRCs are volunteers who care about the environment, Lewis County and its citizens. Please click here to read a volunteer job description. MRC Volunteers are passionate about the following topics, and enjoy:

• Recycling and composting
• Re-using or re-purposing items
• Reducing food waste
• Raising community awareness about environmental issues
• Volunteering with special projects, such as the MRC Tool Bucket Library
• Volunteering at special events, such as Christmas Tree Recycling

MRC volunteers are trained on how to reduce waste and increase public awareness about reducing, recycling, and composting in Lewis County. Volunteers agree to give back 25 hours of annual service and complete five hours of continuing education each year. Learn more at this link to the MRC Training Brochure. If you are interested in becoming an MRC volunteer, please fill out the membership application at this link.

Contact the WSU Lewis County Extension Office:

• Office Address: 17 SW Cascade Ave., Chehalis, WA 98532
• Mailing Address: Lewis County Historic County Courthouse, 351 NW North Street, Chehalis, WA 98532
• Contact Person: Jason Adams, program coordinator
• Phone Number: 360-740-1216
• Email: jason.adams@lewiscountywa.gov, swu@lewiscountywa.gov

Earth Day is EVERY day for Sustainability Stewards! Do you want to improve the environment and save money by reducing landfill waste? Do you have questions about what can and can't be recycled? How to make and use compost? How to deal with hazardous waste and what safer alternatives are available? Look for a training series in 2026. The course is taught by WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composters, WSU and Lewis County staff, and guests who will answer those questions and more to give you the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to be an Environmental Superhero! Topics in the course include backyard home composting and worm composting, understanding and improving soils, reducing food and consumer waste, living a "green" lifestyle, and more. This series is open to everyone and required to become a WSU Certified Master Recycler Composter volunteer (AKA: Sustainability Steward). In-person tours of the Central Transfer Station and the Floral Park Sustainability Project will demonstrate how solid waste is disposed of, recycled, reused, and composted. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please call 360-740-1216 or email jason.adams@lewiscountywa.gov.

The WSU Lewis County Master Recycler Composter Volunteers have developed the Floral Park Sustainability Project into a park that showcases how to live a more sustainable life through composting, upcycling, recycling, reusing, and repurposing. The park is located at the corner of Floral Street and South Tower Avenue in Centralia. Please click here for a brochure that describes the park, it's goals, and future development plans. Volunteers host workshops and classes on waste reduction, composting, chemical-free gardening, and related topics at the site as well as offer it as a pickup site for the MRC Tool Bucket Library. For more information, please call 360-740-1216 or email jason.adams@lewiscountywa.gov.