Seattle's New Compost Disposal Law

[kalm]

Grandma Kalm grew up during the Depression and spent her entire life living conservatively - never wasteful, no over consumption allowed. She composts her non-meat food waste and feeds the bones to the raccoons, recycles everything else. She visits the dump about 3 times per year. Smart, efficient way to responsibly take care of the planet that requires very little effort.

In a more perfect world, leftover food would find its way to the starving people in far-flung places that many parents scolded children about. Instead, as Roberto Ferdman at The Washington Post notes, "food waste has become a growing problem in cities across the United States—the country throws out more food than plastic, paper, metal, or glass."

One of the cities leading the charge in the effort to staunch food waste is Seattle, which passed a law last September that requires residents to compost leftover food. The law went into effect in January, but to educate Seattleites (which is, somehow, the demonym) the city is using a particularly aggressive method: shame.

If the city's waste-management contractors encounter a house, apartment, or commercial property with garbage containing more than 10 percent recyclables or food, they tag the garbage bins with a bright red sticker. "I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," one contractor told NPR earlier this week. "Right now, I'm tagging probably every fifth can."

"The stickers are like getting an 'F' on a school paper," one Seattle resident wrote in an email, adding that some craftier residents were simply using their garbage disposals more to skirt the law.

The sticker system is only temporary; in July, the city will begin fining households, landlords, and businesses for failing to sort food waste. Houses will be fined $1 per infraction, apartments and buildings paying $50. According to Seattle's Department of Public Utilities, "the food waste law will divert 38,000 tons of food scraps from the landfill via composting" as the city aims to recycle or compost 60 percent of its waste in 2015. Seattle's law is the first in the country to fine—and shame—residents for failing to sort their refuse.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/arc ... st/384896/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bronco]

All about control

what you can eat and drink
What you an drive
How much of your money you can keep
Control of your healthcare
If you can have a gun
Kids education and light bulbs you can use
What news you can hear

Long list keeps growing every year

[HI54UNI]

Grandma Kalm grew up during the Depression and spent her entire life living conservatively - never wasteful, no over consumption allowed. She composts her non-meat food waste and feeds the bones to the raccoons, recycles everything else. She visits the dump about 3 times per year. Smart, efficient way to responsibly take care of the planet that requires very little effort.

In a more perfect world, leftover food would find its way to the starving people in far-flung places that many parents scolded children about. Instead, as Roberto Ferdman at The Washington Post notes, "food waste has become a growing problem in cities across the United States—the country throws out more food than plastic, paper, metal, or glass."

One of the cities leading the charge in the effort to staunch food waste is Seattle, which passed a law last September that requires residents to compost leftover food. The law went into effect in January, but to educate Seattleites (which is, somehow, the demonym) the city is using a particularly aggressive method: shame.

If the city's waste-management contractors encounter a house, apartment, or commercial property with garbage containing more than 10 percent recyclables or food, they tag the garbage bins with a bright red sticker. "I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," one contractor told NPR earlier this week. "Right now, I'm tagging probably every fifth can."

"The stickers are like getting an 'F' on a school paper," one Seattle resident wrote in an email, adding that some craftier residents were simply using their garbage disposals more to skirt the law.

The sticker system is only temporary; in July, the city will begin fining households, landlords, and businesses for failing to sort food waste. Houses will be fined $1 per infraction, apartments and buildings paying $50. According to Seattle's Department of Public Utilities, "the food waste law will divert 38,000 tons of food scraps from the landfill via composting" as the city aims to recycle or compost 60 percent of its waste in 2015. Seattle's law is the first in the country to fine—and shame—residents for failing to sort their refuse.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/arc ... st/384896/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What's the point of a $1 per fine infraction? The bureaucracy cost to administer this will be way more than that.

[Chizzang]

I love the reactions...
Yes - please stay as FAR AWAY from Seattle as possible (and thank you)

Next:
What's been interesting is
Lots of folks now see the red sticker and go through the garbage themselves and collect the recyclables
also
The Red Sticker is like a Recycle Flag
Guys (See: Creatively unemployed) in little trucks drive around and root through and collect the bottles and cardboard

Also:
This new disposal law
If it doesn't end up actually working or has no effect on peoples efforts and inspiration
like all shitty annoying things it will go away in due time
but in the meantime its fascinating to watch
my neighborhood has totally rallied to the cause - the kids are all over it with enthusiasm

[kalm]

I think it was Ben Franklin or John Muir who said "He who sacrifices a little bit of freedom for a slightly cleaner environment, deserves neither."

[HI54UNI]

Serious question - how does your trash system work? Do you pay $x per month and you can set out as much trash as you want? Or do you have a certain size container that you can fill each week? Do they have some kind of pay as you throw system - the more you put out the more you pay? Do they have curbside recycling collection?

Since I was involved in solid waste issues in my last job I find this interesting. We implemented a pay as you throw system and our solid waste tonnage dropped 22% because it got more people to recycle.

[Chizzang]

Serious question - how does your trash system work? Do you pay $x per month and you can set out as much trash as you want? Or do you have a certain size container that you can fill each week? Do they have some kind of pay as you throw system - the more you put out the more you pay? Do they have curbside recycling collection?

Since I was involved in solid waste issues in my last job I find this interesting. We implemented a pay as you throw system and our solid waste tonnage dropped 22% because it got more people to recycle.

I live in an apartment community
We all pay $20 bucks each and can throw away as much sh!t as we can gather up
But the community garbage areas have recycle and compost totes or cans (whatever you call them)

We are all gently urged to "go through our sh!t" and get it straight
But whats funny is the kids (teenagers and 20 somethings) take it deadly seriously
They Hitler youth organize the garbage area like it was war..!!!
They flatten and tie the cardboard and organize all the glass
they organize the compost

Fucking kids these days...

[Ibanez]

We compost at the house. Everything goes into the garden.