Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson’s Recycling Challenge ended on Saturday, May 22, with surprising results.

The two first place winners for greatest reduction of waste and the least amount of waste produced per capita were the Kryger family, who reduced their waste by 90.8 percent during the challenge, and the Lim Family, for producing almost no garbage at all – only 1.6 ounces over an entire week.

The majority of participating families were able to reduce their waste by more than 60 percent.

Larson’s family of six, who at the beginning of this challenge felt that they were already doing a good job, were able to reduce their waste by 79 percent from 14.8 lbs. to 3.1 lbs. per week.

“I was amazed in how much change we were able to make over the month,” the mayor said. “I knew it was possible after having seen some of the other families’ numbers at the beginning of the challenge.”

The Larson’s came in fourth for waste reduction and third for per capita production.

Tom Watson, the King County Eco-Consumer, looked through some bags of trash and found no recyclables.

“A goal of zero waste of resources is possible, from what this competition has shown us,” he said.

The event ended with a reflection by Larson about everyone’s efforts and what it means for the future.

“There is no reason why Snoqualmie can’t achieve an even higher recycling rate than King County’s goal of 45 percent,” he said. “Through simple changes, everyone can reduce their waste production.”

For more information about recycling resources visit the King County Solid Waste “Lighten Your Load” web pages.

For more information about the Snoqualmie event, contact Snoqualmie Recycling Intern Patrick Pirtle at (360) 271-0788 or pirtlp@uw.edu.