Can You Recycle That? From Coffins To Plastic Bags

SONOMA VALLEY, CA — What do you do with an unused coffin? In the Bay Area apparently, you bring it to a recycle-reuse event.

A coffin (unused) was one of the strangest items a Bay Area city councilman said he encountered while volunteering at a recycle-reuse event in 2025 — a story that captures how zero-waste "re-user" events have become part environmental service, part community education, part window into human behavior.

These events, once niche, have become almost commonplace across Sonoma County, with "Reusie" awards and festivals. But what residents bring through the gates can still surprise volunteers.

But, beyond the oddities, the events often expose everyday misconceptions. One example: plastic bags stamped with recycling symbols #2 or #4 may look curbside-recyclable, but putting them in blue bins can jam sorting equipment and contaminate loads. Instead, clean, dry plastic film should go to store drop-off bins, often found at grocery entrances.

That kind of practical knowledge is part of what organizers hope residents take away at upcoming events, including this Saturday’s West County Fix-It Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at El Molino High School, where volunteers and repair specialists will help mend lamps, textiles, bikes and small appliances while teaching people how to maintain — and rethink — the products they buy. The fix-it fair is hosted by the Russian River Rotary Club.

It is one of several events on the ZeroWaste Sonoma calendar, alongside e-waste collection in Monte Rio and household hazardous waste drop-offs in Healdsburg, Larkfield and Sebastopol. May 7 is the 2026 Zero Waste Symposium, where the workshops include making butter.