In
Alameda County, food scraps and food soiled paper are the largest single
item in our waste stream—it accounts for 35% of what is thrown away. Those
materials are new resources, not waste. They’re not “yuck” or “stinky stuff”
either—they’re resources waiting in the wings. Instead of putting them
in the grey cart so it can take up landfill space, place it in your green
cart for collection and further hauled to a commercial composting facility.
Once there, it is laid out, turned and cured. Following this process, what
was once a landfill extra will now make its encore appearance as a soil
amendment valued by landscapers and farmers.
The green kitchen pail provided by ACI (Alameda
County Industries), the City of Alameda’s solid waste collection company,
is a convenient, reusable container for collecting food scraps prior
to transferring them to your green organics cart. But we’ve also heard
of lots of clever “containers” that work well and can be composted right
along with your foods scraps. We’ve listed just a few ideas, below.
 |
- Ice cream cartons
- Milk cartons
- Juice cartons
- Cereal box (no plastic liners)
- Pizza box
- Cracker box (no plastic liners)
- Cardboard To-Go containers (no metal handle)
- Paper egg cartons
- In warm weather, freeze food scraps to reduce odor.
- Wrap scraps in newspaper or wax paper before placing in the
container.
- Mix food scraps with yard trimmings to reduce odor.
- For more tips, visit www.StopWaste.org
Bag, box, or carry the food scraps and food soiled paper in the
green cart for weekly pick-up and send the “yuck” back to the earth.
|
Learn more about food scraps recyclilng: www.StopWaste.org
Resources and information on recycling in Alameda: www.AlamedaCountyIndustries.com
