About Us

Tom Watson’s Bio

Tom Watson King County's EcoConsumer

Tom Watson manages the EcoConsumer public education program for King County Solid Waste Division. As part of this effort, Tom writes a column for The Seattle Times and appears on local TV including regular EcoConsumer segments on the KOMO4 TV news and the Green Watch feature on "KCTS Connects" (external), a public affairs show on Channel 9. He is also a regular guest on the call-in radio show Gardening in the Northwest, on KPTK AM1090.

In his work with King County, Tom has been involved in a wide range of projects and research on waste prevention, packaging, junk mail reduction, natural gardening, reuse, toxics reduction, electronics recycling, greening the home and product stewardship. He has also managed King County's Waste Free Holidays program, and as part of his job for the County he coordinates the National Waste Prevention Coalition.

Tom gives dozens of presentations every year locally, regionally and nationally, from the Seattle Green Festival, to the National Recycling Coalition conference, to the WaterWise Garden Faire in Covington.

Prior to joining the County, Tom was a writer and contributing editor for Resource Recycling magazine. He has also been a reporter and editor for several daily and weekly newspapers. Tom has a horticulture background as well, and has worked for Swanson's Nursery in Seattle and other nurseries on the West Coast.

He lives in Seattle's Central District with his wife Linda and daughter Genna. They enjoy walking around the city together, and Tom feels lucky to live close enough to walk to work.

King County’s Role

King County Solid Waste Division has a multi-pronged approach to environmental protection:

• Public education, which includes King County EcoConsumer and dozens of other projects and programs.
• Working with the business sector to encourage them to take responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products and services. This is known as product stewardship.
• Offering collection opportunities for recyclable or reusable items when possible, at our transfer stations or through partnerships.
• Providing waste disposal services with the highest standards and lowest environmental impact possible.

King County's EcoConsumer project deals with the environmental impacts of our purchasing decisions and daily activities. In addition to the Solid Waste Division, a number of other King County agencies offer programs and resources to help King County residents balance consuming and conserving.

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