RE Sources

06/15/2026

Outdated wastewater treatment plants—like Post Point—do not truly "treat" all contaminants, and often simply redistribute some pollutants into our water, air, and land. In Bellingham, this includes unregulated toxics like pharmaceuticals, PFAS, PCBs, microplastics. Fortunately, there are newer technologies available that can treat sewage waste in a more sustainable manner.

Back in November, RE Sources' North Sound Waterkeeper, Kirsten McDade, along with several other Sludge Coalition members, toured two modern-day wastewater systems capable of meeting our health and climate goals. Read our latest blog to hear about what they learned and which of these technologies is best suited to handling Bellingham's wastewater.

Bellingham's Post Point Wastewater Plant does not treat the contaminants, but rather redistributes them into our water, air, and land. Fortunately, healthier, cleaner technologies already exist.

05/29/2026

Are you a builder, repairer, or tinkerer? Do you want to share your skills with others?

RE Sources is looking for instructors to lead hands-on skill-building workshops at The RE Store. As an instructor, you will empower participants to learn basic skills in reuse and repair so they can tackle home projects with confidence, saving money and building resilience. Instructors can expect to commit 4 to 8 hours for preparation and teaching. A $200 stipend is provided.

You should join us if you…
Have a passion for sharing your craft with others; want to make a tangible impact on community self-sufficiency, repair and reuse; and enjoy the patient craft of teaching others.

Follow the link for the full job description and application!

Are you a builder, repairer, or tinkerer? Do you want to share your skills with others? Apply to instruct a workshop at the RE Store!

05/28/2026

Join us for a walking tour of the Georgia-Pacific West site (the next phase of Bellingham’s waterfront cleanup), followed by an open house where folks can ask Ecology questions, on Wednesday, June 10th! Please RSVP at the link in our bio. 🗓️

The Bellingham Waterfront was a seat of industrial activity for more than 100 years, an era that ended with the closure of the Georgia-Pacific tissue mill in 2007. These industries left behind a legacy of toxic pollutants in the soil, sediment, and groundwater—including mercury, nickel, dioxins, petroleum byproducts, and more.

Contamination of the Georgia-Pacific site is divided into two separate areas—the Pulp and Tissue Mill Area and Chlor-Alkali Area. The Pulp and Tissue Mill Area was cleaned up in 2016, the Lignin Operable Unit within the Chlor-Alkali Area was cleaned up in 2022, and the remainder of the Chlor-Alkali Area will be cleaned up next.

As the name suggests, the 36-acre Chlor-Alkali Area included a chlor-alkali plant that operated from 1965 to 1999. Mercury was used to produce chlorine and sodium hydroxide for mill operations, and petroleum was also stored there. These actions contaminated soil and groundwater.

Join us on June 10th to learn more about this site and the cleanup process!

Funded in part by a Public Participation Grant from Washington State Department of Ecology.

05/27/2026

Curious about what the next phase of Bellingham’s waterfront cleanup looks like? Join us for a walking tour of the Georgia-Pacific West site, followed by an open house where folks can ask Ecology questions, on Wednesday, June 10th to find out! Please RSVP by following the link below.

Curious about what the next phase of Bellingham’s waterfront cleanup looks like? Joins us for a walking tour of the GP West site on Wednesday, June 10th to find out!

05/19/2026

We are so grateful to have Healing Through Hope as our guest for tomorrow's Roots & Rivers benefit event. For those joining us, you have some beautiful storytelling to look forward to.

RE Sources works towards a better future: a livable climate and a healthy Salish Sea and bordered by thriving communities. Join our efforts.

05/12/2026

Saturday, May 9th marked the ten-year anniversary of the Army Corps of Engineers cancelling the permit for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point—what would have been the largest coal export facility on the West Coast. And despite the ensuing landmark Cherry Point Amendments that fight inspired, this stretch of shoreline is still facing threats.

Between 2013 and 2024, Whatcom County took little to no action while Petrogas moved forward with 31 unpermitted projects at their LPG facility and increased their butane and propane exports from 3.7 million barrels/year to 22.7 million barrels/year in that timeframe.

So, our coalition appealed the decision—and were handed a victory. The Whatcom County Hearing Examiner agreed that the expansions “would defeat all of the policy intents” of the Whatcom County Council to regulate fossil fuel transshipment. Something we knew all along—because we helped write that policy.

That’s what ten years of sustained, place-based advocacy looks like. But we're not done. We'll continue to monitor industry operations, push for strong protections, and hold both polluters and decision-makers accountable for as long as it takes.

On May 9, 2016, the Army Corps of Engineers cancelled the permit for the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point—what would have been the largest coal export facility on the West Coast. This landmark victory was won through strong community organizing, leadership from Lummi Nation, and d...

05/11/2026

The RE Store is putting together its next round of community workshops and we want to hear from you! Our big goals for these workshops are accessibility, community skill sharing and most of all: WASTE DIVERSION!

Our team has created this quick survey so you can share your input and let us know what type of workshop you’d like to participate in and what days/times work best. Please help us shape the next eight months of workshops at the RE Store. We look forward to hearing from you! Respond by May 15th for your input to be considered.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QYG8FJ6

YES! And we need to hear from you!
Help us dust off our community workshop calendar- Click the link in our bio to cast your vote for upcoming workshops!
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