As you know I work in plastics and we also make trash cans throught the country (Waste Management is a big customer). Well I thought it was intresting we have been making the lids (the cans are made at another factory)for CleanScapes (somwhere out twards Seattle I think) and they provide curbside composting along with curbside recycling. Tehy give trash cans to residents I guess and they are for compostable itmes and they can just set them out to be collected.

WE have been seeing a HUGE increas in recycling cans but I have not seen a composting program like this.

it's really nice to see so many cities offering such good recycling options.

Just thought I would share.

RachelG, I always read your posts with great interest & have learned much about your neck of the woods
This time I'm confused by your use of curbside "compost" cans. I'm guesing they are same as the giant greenwaste cans provided by my town? (50 gal or more?)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tessa89,

yes. I don't know exactly how they use them but CleanScapes is issuing compost cans. These are just like the regular trash cans you see on the curbs (not the super huge ones but for big cans) but the lids are stamped with directions on what to and how to compost. We are making ALOT of thse cans and they specify household kitchen waste that can be recycled so they are targeted to residental customers.

I don't know exacty what their program is but I really like the idea of mass, residental composting.

If they are issuing these cans I would assume they are for collection.

you may also find intresting we will be making the blades for this wind turbine generator. there are 2 installed on the roof of one of our factory buildings. There is a brosure on it at http://cascadeng.com/markets/cres/Cascade_SwiftBrochure.pdf

And if intrested the actual address for the company I work for is www.cascadeng.com

On the home page is a link to "one campaign to make poverty history"

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rachel_G,

RachelG

maybe I was remiss in my discription of the garbage cans my county refuse contractor provides, or my understanding of the term "compost".
I've "composted" green & brown vegetation - it takes a long time to cook before becoming worth my efforts
I can only hope CleanSpaces and the refuuse collection company my County contracts with isn't selling mixed "stuff" to a company that retails questionable products to trusting consumers
Last year someone complained about purchasing cheap 'compost' that included ground up plastics

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tessa89,

I don't know about Seatle or any other city, but I know what Omaha does with yard waste. State law bans yard waste from land fills. The city collects yard waste separately, grinds it up, and makes it available free to anyone who wants it. Most folks who take it use it as mulch. Some of the local green houses bag that waste and sell it cheap - saving the purchaser the inconvenience of going out to the land fill to pick it up.

My city just started offering free recycling to restaurants who want to participate. They are going to get cans to put food waste in that is compostable. Plus residents finally have 5 location centers to pick up free mulch in whatever quantity we want. Before we had to pick up a min. of 15cyds. I don't know where I would even rent a truck that could haul that much let alone if I would know how to drive it.

Here in my little hamlet, we have weekly pickup for 3 different bins...one is for trash (big grey thing)..one is for recycleable items (blue) and the third is for what we call "Yard waste" the bin is green...they are all the same size, you can get any combination of these bins from the recycle company, up to 6 of them at no charge.

The yard waste is all taken to one location for our whole city area, it's mulched and composted...the composting is where it reaches a certain temperature where it kills bugs and bacteria.

You can go and load up on this stuff if you want...I believe it is free, or maybe a nominal charge of like $5.00....I haven't gone to get it for a while. You bring your own bins, or you can load up a truckbed if you want...

[quote]The yard waste is all taken to one location for our whole city area, it's mulched and composted...the composting is where it reaches a certain temperature where it kills bugs and bacteria.

Wabbit, I'd like to hear more about your town's compost program. compost or mulch?
We too have a special bin for "green waste", and use it. The municipal electrical company grinds up trees & offers free mulch, but not compost. A recent expose' stated a nearby city's green waste collection is shipped out of state to a landfill

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tessa89,

Hi, Tessa....

HEre's a link to our local Environmental Services....

http://www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/miramar/cmw.shtml

they offer both compost (which in Ca, I believe has to be "cooked" to a certain temp which kills off most biological bad stuff) and mulch.

You can go to our local landfill site and get either one...bagged or self-loaded.

There are folks who offer to pick some up and deliver it to you, too.

Tessa, would you mind posting a link or PMing that expose'?

I'm on the other side of the bay from you (east bay). Ours was the waste company that was on strike last summer.

Our entire neighborhood has had many issues with the way they gather the trash. No one is really to sure they're recycling at all. Green bins are collected in a separate truck.

I'd be interested to see the story and see if it is our service company. Nothing would surprise me about them anymore.

TooMuchStuff. sorry I cannot offer you a direct link to that expose. I read a news clip in an alternative rag that implied it had been reported in The Bee. If factual, last year the same name city & county couldn't agree - stalemate re contract but have resumed negotiations.
I do not live in that city or county, but find N&R rag interesting

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tessa89,

quote:

Originally posted by JoW:
I don't know about Seatle or any other city, but I know what Omaha does with yard waste. State law bans yard waste from land fills. The city collects yard waste separately, grinds it up, and makes it available free to anyone who wants it. Most folks who take it use it as mulch. Some of the local green houses bag that waste and sell it cheap - saving the purchaser the inconvenience of going out to the land fill to pick it up.

JoW: Hi, I'm in Omaha, but wasn't aware of any free mulch program. Also, do you have the names of any of the greenhouses that you mention in your post? I checked the City of Omaha website but didn't find any info. Appreciate your help!

We have a yard waste pick up service by the town and it is composted. Durham has the large rolling "dumpster" trashcans for yard waste. I have a couple of trash cans I use for yardwaste that I don't compost (branches and weeds) but most of the stuff I compost myself including kitchen waste. Add enough compost to our lovely red clay and you'll have some decent soil in no time.

This is from a newbie to composting:
(I have a backyard vegetable garden). I have hesitated to add food waste scraps to my garden compost because I don't want the compost pile to be an attraction to "critters", or to my own dogs when they go out. I know not to add meat scraps to compost. Any other suggestions?

Google composting and you'll find a wealth of information on the subject.

I occasionally get some bugs in my compost but if you turn it and cover the fresh food waste (vegetable based only) critters aren't a problem. I recommend some kind of enclosure for your compost, it can be as simple as a wire mesh fence or a commercially made bin or tumbler. I have an "Earth Machine" but when it breaks I won't buy another because the connection between the two halves is poorly designed. I got it when the city was offering them at cost and it was fairly reasonable in price.

If you're doing just yard waste and have the space a compost pile can be just a pile, the enclosure allows you to have it be a bit more compact, and will keep the dogs out of it.

I compost the following in my earth machine: vegetable based waste, shredded paper, coffee grounds, and some yard waste. Most of my grass I dump in a pile in the woods behind my house, since my son "yard wasted" the mulching plug for our lawn mower I'm stuck bagging all the grass trimmings for now. Leaves in the fall get used as mulch in the natural area of my yard. With about one third of an acre of grass I need a much larger compost bin, probably multiple bins to be able to incorporate all my yard waste.

I generally pick leaves up with the mower, which cuts them down a bit and keeps them from blowing all over the place. I've taken to getting leaves from the neighbors to fill out the natural area, I've found that leaves once damp stay in place better than shredded hardwood mulch because my natural area is a slope.