The City of Austin has just
announced that an additional 38,000 households will have curbside compost
collection beginning the week of October 2, 2017.
I am so excited about this!
This collection will happen
weekly on trash collection day.
This
program collects food scraps, yard trimming, and food-soiled paper, then
coverts them into nutrient-rich compost. This
program is a part of the City’s Zero Waste goal to divert 90% of materials from
the landfill by 2040.
With this new program and
Simple Recycling, I am more confident that Zero Waste can actually be achieved
in my lifetime.
To see if you are included in
this program, go to the website below and type in your address under “My
Schedule”.
Residents
who are included in Curbside Composting are invited to an informational open
house where they will learn about Curbside Composting and what to put in and
what to keep out of the new green cart.
As a bonus, attendees will receive a free kitchen food scraps collector
and some compostable bags.
For a
list of educational open houses, downloadable resources and instructional
videos, visit <http://www.austintexas.gov/austincomposts>
I am
very proud of our city for taking this initiative. There was a pilot program that included
14,000 households. From that program,
the City learned that a 32 gallon collection can was more desirable than the 96
gallon can used in the initial program. All
38,000 households will receive the 32 gallon can.
Also, to
address the “ick factor” in the pilot program, material can now be put into
compostable (not biodegradable) bags. These are available in some grocery
stores and on Amazon. More information
will be received at the open house about these bags.
A recent
study showed that almost half of everything that residential customers send to
the landfill is compostable material.
When buried in a landfill, compostable materials do not break down as
they would in nature or in a compost pile.
They decompose anaerobically (without oxygen) and, in the process, become
the number one source of human-caused methane released into the atmosphere.
In the
compost collection program, organic materials placed in the green carts are
transported to a local facility where they break down into useable compost.
I HAVE ALREADY HAD ONE
QUESTION – WILL THE CITY CONTINUE PICKING UP YARD WASTE WEEKLY IN THE BROWN
BAGS AND OUR OWN STICK CANS?
The answer is YES. “Brown” material like leaves and sticks are an
important component of compost. The City prefers that leaves and sticks be
placed in your new green composting cart.
When the cart is full, put the remaining leaves and sticks into brown
bags or your own cans.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST TO THIS BLOG ANY RECYCLING
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. I WILL
RESEARCH YOUR QUESTIONS AND POST THE ANSWERS.
.
