"Calm and collected beyond her years, Squaxin Island tribal member Sheena Kaas has her hands full this week, overseeing an ambitious waste-reduction and recycling program that should pay dividends for the tribe and the environment for years to come.

She’s the go-to person and key organizer of the Green Team volunteers who are trying to make the Paddle to Squaxin 2012 canoe landing in Olympia and subsequent potlatch protocol celebration at the tribal complex in Kamilche as close to a zero-waste event as possible.

The goal is to recycle 75 percent of the waste generated at the canoe landing and potlatch. If successful, it will easily top the 50 percent recycling rate achieved by the Swinomish Tribe during the 2011 canoe journey.

All week long you can find Kaas, 26, working 12 hours or more a day to ensure the solid waste generated by the thousands of tribal guests and non-native visitors is segregated, sorted and recycled before it leaves the reservation."

Get the Story:
John Dodge: Soundings: Squaxin event's waste-reduction goals ambitious (The Olympian 8/2)

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