Visitors wandering around Eastsound with an empty coffee cup or picking up after their dog will now have a place to put their garbage.

“We are a world class tourism destination but we don’t have world class facilities,” said Rick Hughes, who has spearheaded an effort to purchase and maintain trash cans for Eastsound. He owns Ray’s Pharmacy with his wife Marlace and is a member of the Eastsound Planning Review Committee.

Hughes and other local business owners have seen the need for some time, but were spurred on by the efforts of Salmonberry Elementary School students.

During a stroll through Eastsound, the kids noticed a profusion of litter. They looked for the nearest trash receptacles only to realize that there were no public cans to be found. They decided to learn about the cost of solid waste pickup and formed an organization called “Kids for the Environment through Litter Prevention.” In partnership with members of the EPRC, these young activists pledged to raise the funds for one week of garbage collection for six new cans in Eastsound.

Hughes and Jeff Hanson of Pawki’s have been communicating with San Juan Sanitation, which has offered to cover most of the trash/recycle containers’ cost. Their goal is to have them installed by Memorial Day Weekend. The Orcas Island Chamber is the nonprofit sponsor of the initiative.

“We would love to see locally inspired designs put on the cans,” Hughes said.

Added Hanson, “Ideally, it shouldn’t be an ordinary can. It should add to the character and the flavor of the town.”

Hughes also worked with San Juan County so designated business owners don’t have to apply for a right of way permit to put the cans in front of their store. Among the shops on board: Pawki’s, Island Market, Cherie Lindholm Real Estate and Orcas Homegrown.

The cost of garbage pick-up for one year is around $6500. The funds have not yet been raised, but Hughes is hopeful they will make the Memorial Day weekend deadline.

“Here on Orcas, if there is a problem, we figure out how to fix it,” he said. “We just haven’t hammered out all the details out yet.”

Hanson and Hughes will be applying for a 2013 lodging tax grant to pay for ongoing garbage service and create a fund balance for upkeep.

“After a few years of noticing this, it’s really time to do something about it,” Hanson said. “We’re inviting people here to the island and we need to provide basic amenities to keep the place clean.”