It’s no secret that entering West Seattle, Junction-bound, from the “Fauntleroy Triangle” area, you’re not exactly greeted with an inspirational view (photos above were taken as we drove westbound on Fauntleroy during the Saturday-afternoon sunshine). But you might be interested to hear that in this time of transition (related topic below), there’s a move afoot to change that — spearheaded by local leaders including West Seattle-residing Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and West Seattle Junction Association president Dave Montoure. They’re strategizing a way to beautify the “gateway to West Seattle,” and working on a strategy meeting to be held later this month. In a recent chat with WSB, Montoure — proprietor of West 5 — also talked about a new way that his establishment and the Junction’s other food businesses are going green — and making history in the process:
As of this month, the West Seattle Junction Association is the first group of its type with its food-service members — more than 30 — recycling food waste. It’s the first phase of a long-range project to recycle more of what winds up in the alleys — to reduce the “dumpster footprint,” as Montoure put it:
It’s a true recycling program; Cedar Grove is picking up the food waste three times a week and returning compost back to The Junction to use in landscaping. (Cedar Grove is the same company that recycles what is put out for city yard- and food-waste pickup.) So far, Montoure says, he’s getting good feedback from the participants, some of whom — such as Elliott Bay Brewery (read more about their efforts here) — already had been heading in a green direction.
Montoure says the Junction Association will work on cardboard recycling before the end of the year, followed by other types of recycling including tin/aluminum/glass/plastic.
This is just one of the big projects the WSJA is working on; the first-ever Pet Fest is less than two weeks away, for starters — we have more details to share on that tomorrow, along with plenty of West Seattle Summer Fest ’08 advance scoop from our chat with Montoure.
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