Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Woodland Park Zoo is committed to sustainability and continues to push the boundaries of what is possible. Currently, over 80% of waste at the zoo is diverted from landfills each year and our goal is to achieve 90% diversion from landfill by 2022. The purpose of a waste audit is to measure our current waste and increase compost and recycling diversion while simultaneously reducing/eliminating contamination. The last zoo-wide waste audit was conducted in 2013, which occurred before the roll-out of public tri-sorting stations and before Seattle’s food packaging ordinances were implemented. To understand how to help keep more waste out of landfills, the zoo’s Green Team organized a zoo-wide waste audit in 2019 to assess our waste streams. The waste audit was possible through the sponsorship of  Waste Management  and  Cedar Grove  as well as the zoo staff and volunteers who sorted through 95 bags of garbage, recycling, and compost! Meghan Sawyer, a member of the pu...

Posted by Elizabeth Bacher, Communications Our maned wolves can't resist a sustainably-wrapped gift! Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo Did you know there’s more waste generated during the holiday season than at almost any other time of year? Tens of thousands of pounds of boxes, wrappings, cards, ribbons and bows all end up in the landfill … but it doesn’t have to be that way. Tis the season for sustainable wrapping! Photo Silvia Sava /flickr Here are some tips for a greener holiday season! A lot of wrapping paper can’t be recycled. Look for recycling and sourcing information on labels and steer clear of wrapping papers (and cards) that are metallic, have layers of cellophane, glitter or velvety flocking. None of those is recyclable. FSC labels (certification from the Forest Stewardship Council) are the best indicators that the paper came from a forest that is managed and harvested in an environmentally-friendly, socially-responsible, and economicall...