To the editor:

My husband and I do not use trash pickup because we only generate about one or two bags of trash a month. We take everything else to be recycled and we compost and mulch. It’s easy.

I learned this in California prior to moving here. I was a county budget analyst and solid waste was one of my budget units. It was an enterprise fund; that means that user fees covered costs and not county property taxes.

Mandatory recycling, including yard waste, started 30 years ago.

There, currently, 70 percent of the waste stream is recycled. If residents want to save money, they can recycle and haul their own trash. Island County residents need to get with it.

A 34 percent recycle rate is disgraceful.

LINDA THORN

Coupeville