Orcas Recycling Services is bringing the beloved Exchange back to the island and back at its original home at the San Juan County Transfer Station. ORS staff predicts that the doors will open this year barring unforeseen complications

After the Exchange, a recycling reuse center, went up in flames in 2013, the local group Orcas Recycling Services took over the operation of solid waste and recycling.  ORS has spent two years running the dump’s operation, but have not forgotten the importance of the Exchange, in fact they  want to build an even better resuse center.

There are several tasks that must be completed before islanders will see the Exchange up and running.  First on the list is the permitting process. Their “grading” permit application is currently being reviewed by San Juan County and next will be processed by the Department of Ecology. It’s hard to say how long these permits will take, says ORS Director Pete Moe.

“I am optimistically hoping for six to eight weeks-ish, to start construction.

This permit will allow ORS to build the new roads and traffic pattern described in their Master Plan, which can be found in full at http://www.exchangeorcas.org/reuse/.

Basically, the western gate becomes an entrance, and the east gate becomes an exit. A new loop road around the former Exchange site allows vehicles to cue on site and off Orcas Road. Once this work is completed, there will be a flat space for a new Exchange area.

The design of the future reuse facility is still underway. You can see the final concept at left. There are a number of concepts, from a big, beautiful pole-barn style buildings to quick and inexpensive solutions using containers and clear-span roofs. ORS is focusing on utilizing as much covered space as possible.

As far as how the Exchange will run, the ORS board is still working out the details. Moe said the board is committed to retaining a policy where there are no prices – you pay what you think something is worth as before.

“But a huge (and exciting) difference is that we are now a 501c3 – so we can offer tax write-offs for nicer items.,” he said. “So we may start getting valuable stuff – and we can’t just give those things away. So there could end up being a “higher end” store within the Exchange that would have prices, or suggested prices on them.”

To stay updated on ORS news, visit www.exchangeorcas.org.