Seattle gets even more serious about recycling, composting

[mominatrix]

Tossing Out Food In The Trash? In Seattle, You'll Be Fined For That
JANUARY 26, 2015 2:54 PM ET
from
KUOW
AMY RADIL



In Seattle, wasting food will now earn you a scarlet letter — well, a scarlet tag, to be more accurate.

The bright red tag, posted on a garbage bin, tells everyone who sees it that you've violated a new city law that makes it illegal to put food into trash cans.

"I'm sure neighbors are going to see these on their other neighbors' cans," says Rodney Watkins, a lead driver for Recology CleanScapes, a waste contractor for the city. He's on the front lines of enforcing these rules.

Seattle is the first city in the nation to fine people for not properly sorting their garbage. The law took effect on Jan. 1 as a bid to keep food out of landfills. Other cities like San Francisco and Vancouver mandate composting, but don't penalize homeowners directly.

As Watkins made the rounds in Maple Leaf, a residential neighborhood of Seattle, earlier this month, he appeared disheartened to find an entire red velvet cake in someone's trash bin. Any household with more than 10 percent food in its garbage earns a bright red tag notifying it of the infraction.

"Right now, I'm tagging probably every fifth can," Watkins says. "I don't know if that's just the holidays, or the fact that I'm actually paying a lot more attention."

Watkins doesn't have to comb through the trash — the forbidden items are plain to see.

"You can see all the oranges and coffee grounds," he says, raising one lid. "All that makes great compost. You can put that in your compost bin and buy it back next year in a bag and put it in your garden."

Seattle Public Utilities estimates that every family in the city throws away some 400 pounds of food each year. The city gives households bins to fill with their food and yard waste. But residents don't have to compost it themselves: They can just leave the bins curbside and have the city pick it up for a fee.

The new law is meant to help Seattle increase its recycling and composting rate to 60 percent of all its waste — the city is currently 4 percentage points below that.



The red tags are part of the public education campaign about the new law; the city won't actually start issuing fines until July. Single households will pay $1 per violation, but apartments, condos and commercial buildings could be fined $50. That has apartment and condominium dwellers a little nervous.

Jim Ward owns a condo in a large building in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. He says his neighbors include people from many different countries who may not be familiar with Seattle's recycling rules. Ward came down to the building's recycling bin recently and it was a mess.

"I found dirty rags with oil on them and just really messy pieces of plastic that were wet," he says. So Ward took the opportunity to do some outreach.

"I ended up actually taking those things and putting them on the main counter in the lobby of the condominium, and I just wrote a note to everyone and I said, 'Are these things recyclable?' "

Seattle's push for more recycling comes as the state's overall recycling rate has gone down slightly. The Washington Department of Ecology says the recycling rate slipped to 49 percent in 2013 from 50, although that's still among the highest in the nation.



The city's consumer recycling capabilities are pretty high-tech, with machines to separate paper, glass and plastic. And come July, Seattle will also start issuing fines for too much recyclable materials mixed in the trash. That has been illegal for several years, but haulers had just been leaving garbage on the curb when that happened.

Now, leaving an empty tub of butter or mayonnaise jar in the rubbish bin could earn you a red tag, too.

Amy Radil is a reporter with member station KUOW in Seattle. A version of this story first appeared on the KUOW website.




www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2015/01/26/381586856/tossing-out-food-in-the-trash-in-seattle-you-ll-be-fined-for-that?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

[darnkatz]

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

[mominatrix]

up until now, it's been that recycling is free and compost is remarkably cheap, compared with spendy spendy trash.

that's the carrot... apparently, we now have a stick, too.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

I walked around the zoo in Tacoma (I think it's in Tacoma?) with my paper coffee cup looking for a compost bin for almost 30 min. I finally asked BIL if they were only near the cafe or something and he looked at me like I was nuts for expecting one.

I was like, what do you MEAN you don't compost here? Seattle is hippie. You should be hippie by association. We compost in Oakland for godssake.

[pixy0stix]

NOT A BRIGHT RED TAG!!!!

[mominatrix]

Jan 27, 2015 13:09:28 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

NOT A BRIGHT RED TAG!!!!

you'd think... but they really are obvious, and even when driving around, you see them and can't help but think, "slacker."

Shame is a great motivator. And in this city, those red tags are definitely meant to shame.

[pixy0stix]

LOL!

I think it's a great idea. I just think the red tags are funny.

[chw57]

Jan 27, 2015 13:06:55 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

I walked around the zoo in Tacoma (I think it's in Tacoma?) with my paper coffee cup looking for a compost bin for almost 30 min. I finally asked BIL if they were only near the cafe or something and he looked at me like I was nuts for expecting one.

I was like, what do you MEAN you don't compost here? Seattle is hippie. You should be hippie by association. We compost in Oakland for godssake.

Even walnut creek composts!

[darnkatz]

Jan 27, 2015 13:06:55 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

I walked around the zoo in Tacoma (I think it's in Tacoma?) with my paper coffee cup looking for a compost bin for almost 30 min. I finally asked BIL if they were only near the cafe or something and he looked at me like I was nuts for expecting one.

I was like, what do you MEAN you don't compost here? Seattle is hippie. You should be hippie by association. We compost in Oakland for godssake.

Tacoma is not hippie. Tacoma is filth and smog and people who hate bicycles and recycling.

Hear that, Tacoma? I'm giving you a big ol' fuck you.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 27, 2015 13:16:43 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:06:55 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

I walked around the zoo in Tacoma (I think it's in Tacoma?) with my paper coffee cup looking for a compost bin for almost 30 min. I finally asked BIL if they were only near the cafe or something and he looked at me like I was nuts for expecting one.

I was like, what do you MEAN you don't compost here? Seattle is hippie. You should be hippie by association. We compost in Oakland for godssake.

Tacoma is not hippie. Tacoma is filth and smog and people who hate bicycles and recycling.

Hear that, Tacoma? I'm giving you a big ol' fuck you.

I'm LOLing SO HARD at this. Most of H's extended family lives in Tacoma.

[darnkatz]

Jan 27, 2015 13:19:46 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:16:43 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

Tacoma is not hippie. Tacoma is filth and smog and people who hate bicycles and recycling.

Hear that, Tacoma? I'm giving you a big ol' fuck you.

I'm LOLing SO HARD at this. Most of H's extended family lives in Tacoma.

This city is just not for me. Shit, Chicago looks like a cycling mecca compared to this nonsense. I need some hippie in my life.

[mbcdefg]

We were amazed by all the compost and recycling options in cafes during our Seattle/PDX/San Fran trip last year. I've never seen anything like that on the East Coast. Sometimes even a regular recycling bin is hard to find in a public establishment ... we've very often carried our empty Coke cans and beer bottles out of a restaurant and put them in our own recycling bins at home because the only disposal option in the restaurant was a regular trash can. 

[btdt]

This makes me sad that we are so backwards here. The only trash company that will service our neighborhood recently discontinued its curbside recycling. Now I have to bag that shit up and take it to the collection bins behind city hall. The problem is that it requires a special trip to do so. #firstworldproblems

[omgzombies]

Our HOA prohibits adding food to your compost bin. It makes me rage. One of my goals is to get that nonsense out our HOA regulations.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 27, 2015 13:23:34 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

Our HOA prohibits adding food to your compost bin. It makes me rage. One of my goals is to get that nonsense out our HOA regulations.

Any food? Even uncooked food? Like potato peels and carrot tops?

Before we got legit composting we could at least add uncooked fruits/veg to our green bin.

[downtoearth]

Jan 27, 2015 13:13:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

LOL!

I think it's a great idea. I just think the red tags are funny.

It's also Seattle, so soon you will be able to get them on T-shirts - ironically.

[omgzombies]

Jan 27, 2015 13:25:40 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:23:34 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

Our HOA prohibits adding food to your compost bin. It makes me rage. One of my goals is to get that nonsense out our HOA regulations.

Any food? Even uncooked food? Like potato peels and carrot tops?

Before we got legit composting we could at least add uncooked fruits/veg to our green bin.

Any food.  Idiots.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 27, 2015 13:29:12 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:25:40 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

Any food? Even uncooked food? Like potato peels and carrot tops?

Before we got legit composting we could at least add uncooked fruits/veg to our green bin.

Any food.  Idiots.

[WOT?*]

Jan 27, 2015 13:26:28 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:13:00 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

LOL!

I think it's a great idea. I just think the red tags are funny.

It's also Seattle, so soon you will be able to get them on T-shirts - ironically.

I'd want one to go with the South Lake Union Transit tee that I wish I had.

[saz]

Jan 27, 2015 12:54:16 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Jim Ward owns a condo in a large building in the Laurelhurst neighborhood. He says his neighbors include people from many different countries who may not be familiar with Seattle's recycling rules. Ward came down to the building's recycling bin recently and it was a mess.

"I found dirty rags with oil on them and just really messy pieces of plastic that were wet," he says. So Ward took the opportunity to do some outreach.

"I ended up actually taking those things and putting them on the main counter in the lobby of the condominium, and I just wrote a note to everyone and I said, 'Are these things recyclable?' "

Am I the only one who doesn't find a passive aggressive note to be the same thing as outreach?

But anyway, this thread inspired me to sign up for recycling. Our city does compost, but you have to pay to participate. Trash is free, so I can't imagine they have a large participation rate.

[mominatrix]

Jan 27, 2015 13:21:30 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:19:46 GMT -5 meshaliuknits said:

I'm LOLing SO HARD at this. Most of H's extended family lives in Tacoma.

This city is just not for me. Shit, Chicago looks like a cycling mecca compared to this nonsense. I need some hippie in my life.

we need to get together. I'll hook you up with hippieness.

[mominatrix]

Jan 27, 2015 13:27:35 GMT -5 incogneato said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:23:34 GMT -5 omgzombies said:

Our HOA prohibits adding food to your compost bin. It makes me rage. One of my goals is to get that nonsense out our HOA regulations.

What? Isn't that like 75% of the point of composting?


As for the article, there are some foods you aren't supposed to compost, though, right? Like meat? Or is that just to deter animals from backyard compost heaps?

I wish we had local composting around here. Our only option is backyard.

in Seattle you can put ANY food in compost, including meat and bones. the city compost facility is so hardcore, it can handle it.

we can also put food-stained paper and cardboard (PIZZA BOXES!!!) in the compost, which is fantastico... it means that a lot of stuff that would ordinarily be in trash (because it can't be recycled with food on it) CAN be recycled.

[meltoine]

I find it a little obnoxious that they make you pay for compost pick-up and then pay again to buy the compost back. What kind of incentive is that? One place I used to live, you had to pay per-bag for trash pick up (each bag had to have a sticker on it. The stickers cost like .50 or something) and recycling and composting we're free. And almost everything was recyclable. I thought that was a good system.

[meshaliuknits]

Jan 27, 2015 13:48:30 GMT -5 mominatrix said:

Jan 27, 2015 13:27:35 GMT -5 incogneato said:

What? Isn't that like 75% of the point of composting?


As for the article, there are some foods you aren't supposed to compost, though, right? Like meat? Or is that just to deter animals from backyard compost heaps?

I wish we had local composting around here. Our only option is backyard.

in Seattle you can put ANY food in compost, including meat and bones. the city compost facility is so hardcore, it can handle it.

we can also put food-stained paper and cardboard (PIZZA BOXES!!!) in the compost, which is fantastico... it means that a lot of stuff that would ordinarily be in trash (because it can't be recycled with food on it) CAN be recycled.

We've got the same in Richmond. It's amazeballs. Between recycling and composting our trash is almost nothing.

Come on Tacoma! If Bakersfield gets composting first you will never live it down

[mominatrix]

Jan 27, 2015 13:58:48 GMT -5 tillie said:

Don't people use garbage disposers? That's pretty much the norm for here.

we have one but only use it very very rarely. I don't know why. H does most of the hardcore kitchen stuff, and is anti-disposal... I think he thinks it's not good for the plumbing or something. Or something about the sewers...


We put a ton of stuff in compost we couldn't put down the disposal, though... bones, paper and cardboard (food boxes, napkins, compostable disposable cups etc), even compostable plastics. Plus yard waste.

[zelda25]

Jan 27, 2015 13:58:48 GMT -5 tillie said:

Don't people use garbage disposers? That's pretty much the norm for here.

No need to risk fucking up your plumbing or disposal when you can just put it all in the compost bin.

[jln]

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

Same here in Kent.  Plus we only get recycling pickup every other week, so everyone throws recyclables in the garbage.  

[mominatrix]

Jan 27, 2015 13:51:33 GMT -5 meltoine said:

I find it a little obnoxious that they make you pay for compost pick-up and then pay again to buy the compost back. What kind of incentive is that? One place I used to live, you had to pay per-bag for trash pick up (each bag had to have a sticker on it. The stickers cost like .50 or something) and recycling and composting we're free. And almost everything was recyclable. I thought that was a good system.

you don't HAVE to buy the compost back...


You pay by the size of your bin... smaller bins are less expensive than bigger ones. The prices go up with the size of the bin, but even the biggest bins are way way cheaper than trash.  See here: www.seattle.gov/Util/MyServices/FoodYard/index.htm


Usually, we get a bag of compost free from the city, about once a year. The rest of it is commercially available compost, like you'd buy at a garden center. My guess is it's really good stuff, because it has all the crazy stuff in it that other, smaller, compost facilities can't handle (like bone, meat, etc)

[zelda25]

Jan 27, 2015 14:05:34 GMT -5 jln said:

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

Same here in Kent.  Plus we only get recycling pickup every other week, so everyone throws recyclables in the garbage.  

Reducing garbage pickup to every other week while picking up recycling and compost/yard debris weekly has been a primo incentive for folks to get with the program in Portland (I know you know this, jln--just sayin'  ).

I think our recycling/composting program is probably the only thing I love about Portland city government.

[darnkatz]

Jan 27, 2015 14:05:34 GMT -5 jln said:

Jan 27, 2015 12:55:04 GMT -5 darnkatz said:

I wish Tacoma would take notice. People are fucking nasty here with their garbage.

Same here in Kent.  Plus we only get recycling pickup every other week, so everyone throws recyclables in the garbage.  

Yes, that is how it is here as well. I hate it. I store recycling on my porch until the recycling bins get emptied, and then I run outside and dump it all in before it gets filled (which happens pretty quickly).