Date: April 1, 2024
From: FIWMD Commission
To: Fishers Island Community
Fellow Fishers Islanders:

2023 and early 2024 continue to be a period of change and accomplishment at FIWMD, with tangible progress towards the current Strategic Plan goals of effective management, expanding the compost program, and improving data collection & community outreach.

A search is underway for an Operations Supervisor to bring experience, energy, vision, and a spirit of collaboration to all aspects of our waste management operations.

Thanks to large quantities of food scraps, brush, and logs brought to the Compost Station, our organics to products program has skyrocketed. We recorded 11 k lbs of food scraps in August 2023 alone, which is more than we collected in all of 2022. We also processed over 200 cords of firewood in 2023. The resulting products – compost, cordwood, and mulch – are currently offered free of charge to the island community with myriad financial and environmental benefits.

Ongoing data collection includes usage, weights, and person hours by task to identify opportunities for improvement and greater efficiencies.

Finally, FIWMD has been benefiting from ongoing collaborations with many island institutions, including: the FI School, the Community Center, the HLFM Museum, the FI Conservancy, the Community Garden, and Lighthouse Works. We look forward to continued community outreach in 2024, including co-hosting a public talk by compost expert Jayne Merner of EarthCare Farms on June 30th at the HLF Museum.

Thank you for your patience as we strive to serve you better and honor FIWMD’s core principles of fiscal responsibility, safe operations, and mindfulness of the fragile nature of our small island environment and community.

Sincerely,

FIWMD Commission

David Burnham, Chair
Gordon Murphy, Treasurer
Sarah Malinowski, Secretary
Kate Stevens, Employee Liaison
Mere Doyen, Community Liaison