it's like compost christmas.

i opened the front door this afternoon to retrieve a package to find this.  it was like a light was shining on it from above.  the horrible afternoon i was having?  forgotten.  this, my friends, is my ticket into the city's pilot composting program.

let me backtrack...  last fall, the city had sent out a questionairre about trash, recycling, composting, etc.  of course i filled it out and i also wrote on my survey that if they were to ever implement the composting program that they were discussing i would really, really, REALLY like to be a part of it.

well, i never heard anything else about it and had almost forgotten about it when one week i noticed these small black bins on the curb by my neighbors trash and recycling bins.  and i knew they had to be compost bins.  and of course, i was jealous i wasn't getting to participate.  after a little research, i found they were still looking for volunteers for the pilot program and i volunteered our household again.  after a couple of e-mails with the coordinator i found we had been passed over because we lived in a condo.  really? 

but all is now forgotten!  and we're now full steam ahead.  and it's like christmas with my new bin.

 

as a reminder to all of us, i taped this flyer to the top of our kitchen trash so that we think twice of how we dispose of something.  diapers?  into the compost bin.  all food items?  composted.  microwave popcorn bags?  yep, compost.  pretty  much the only thing going into the trash will be some type of packaging that can neither be recycled or composted.  how awesome is that?

so now i'm curious... how much trash will our house produce in a week?  i've emptied all of our trash cans and now the experiement begins.  as of now, our kitchen trash can holds the wrappers of a couple of pieces of string cheese and the backing of some 3m adhesive hooks.  so far so good.

crossing my fingers that this program takes hold and becomes city wide.  it couldn't be easier for people to simply put their compostable items in a bin and have the city pick it up each week.

Comments

[Gina Egg, summer card camper]

Very cool! I'd love to do something like this and reduce what we toss. And, in other news, it's fun to finally put a "face" with a name that has been in my email box every day for the past 4 weeks! :)

[sarah]

how cool! for as "green" as our city is, i'm surprised we don't have such a service attached to our garbage/recycle service.

[Stephanie Klauck]

We do the same thing in Canada but have a green bin. And it is the law for us to use them. Everyone has to have one curbside and you can actually get a fine I think if you don't.
We throw out less than a bag of garbage a week between compost and recycling.
So great - you'll love it!! :-)

[brandi]

I'm not sure I know anyone else who would document the composting bin arrival. :) love you! and love your perspective!

[kate]

I've been composting a while and that list is far from what I put in my compost... is this a city program that they'll be picking up your compost? No way would my home compost have meat products and especially diapers. And I've never heard of dairy or breads as being part of a healthy compost mix... do tell more :) Even so, my compost collection each day is unbelievable. You never realize how much food waste you accumulate in a day, and the massive amount that it takes to get a small amount of compost. We have a 90 gallon compost bin that my parents contribute to too... and try as we might to fill it up, it just keeps working away and breaking down :) Good luck.

[melanie bauer]

YES!  definitely different than your typical compost list.  i simply roll my bin to the curb each week alongside our trash bin and its emptied and taken to a nearby town. 

 

from just doing my worm composting a couple of years ago, its quite a change to see what i can put in my city compost bin.  hoping the pilot program is a success so it can continue city wide!

[becky]

you're my favorite green momma.