The city discovered that two-thirds (',000 tons a year) of what
people throw out as garbage is recyclable or compostable. Removing that
from the landfills would leave the city recycling 90 percent of its
waste.
The city already composts 4,000 tons of food scraps and compostable
materials into highly sought after organic compost. The final product
is so popular and so rich and fertile that it can't be kept on the
store shelves.
This is not a new idea -- other cities on the West Coast have sold the
rights to collect compost from city residents to private contractors
who are making similarly sought after "black gold" compost and creating
green jobs and organic soil for local farmers and vineyards.
By requiring residents and businesses to compost, San Francisco is
ensuring that the amount of composted soils goes up and the amount of
waste in landfills goes down.
The benefits don't stop with green jobs and longer lives for landfills.
Food breaking down in the absence of oxygen in a landfill results in
methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas. Composting food when oxygen is
present creates little or no methane and using the resulting compost
reduces greenhouse gases by returning carbon to the soil, increasing
plant growth and reducing emissions associated with conventional
agri-businesses practices.
For towns concerned about the health and longevity of their landfills,
placing greater emphasis on composting makes a great deal of sense.
Mandating composting in a rural setting where there is no municipal
trash pickup may not be necessary, but taking other steps such as
providing compost bins, classes, education and perhaps a centralized
community compost heap might make sense.
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