LA City to Start Compost Pilot Program for Homes
I have written before about my personal adventures in composting, I'm a huge fan by the way. In September the City of Los Angeles will begin a composting pilot program for one year in close to 9 thousand homes in North Central and South Central Los Angeles.
The program is geared towards decreasing the amount of garbage in the city dumps. The Bureau of Sanitation claims the majority of the trash in household black bins is food waste.
The way it works is the homes in the project will be given a 2-gallon covered bucket for food scraps. When the bucket gets full they dump it into their green bins with the lawn trimmings and clippings. Then the green bins will be picked up weekly by the city and taken to a composting facility.
It seems the main concern, other than the cost of course, is the smell. I can speak from personal experience. It's not that bad.
I have had my backyard composter marinating for a couple months and I can only smell it when I open the lid to put more stuff inside. Even then it's not too bad, we like to call it an earthy smell in Chez Kotzman. I don't know for sure how this particular project will work but as far as the home bins are concerned no meat or dairy is put in your compost pile. It stinks and attracts pest.
This program makes me think that the City of Los Angeles is indeed thinking about our collective environmental futures on some level. I hope it goes well and the project is expanded. Between composting and recycling I have approximately one bag of trash a week going into the black bin and on to the landfill. It does make a difference.
If you would like to start your very own compost but don't know where to begin, the city holds a workshop the fourth Saturday of every month click here for more information.
The program is geared towards decreasing the amount of garbage in the city dumps. The Bureau of Sanitation claims the majority of the trash in household black bins is food waste.
The way it works is the homes in the project will be given a 2-gallon covered bucket for food scraps. When the bucket gets full they dump it into their green bins with the lawn trimmings and clippings. Then the green bins will be picked up weekly by the city and taken to a composting facility. It seems the main concern, other than the cost of course, is the smell. I can speak from personal experience. It's not that bad.
I have had my backyard composter marinating for a couple months and I can only smell it when I open the lid to put more stuff inside. Even then it's not too bad, we like to call it an earthy smell in Chez Kotzman. I don't know for sure how this particular project will work but as far as the home bins are concerned no meat or dairy is put in your compost pile. It stinks and attracts pest.
This program makes me think that the City of Los Angeles is indeed thinking about our collective environmental futures on some level. I hope it goes well and the project is expanded. Between composting and recycling I have approximately one bag of trash a week going into the black bin and on to the landfill. It does make a difference.
If you would like to start your very own compost but don't know where to begin, the city holds a workshop the fourth Saturday of every month click here for more information.
About this blog
Roxanne Kotzman is a Daily News Photo Department veteran of nine years. When she and longtime friend Stacy Long
discovered their love all of all things environmentally responsible, they launched Happy Monkey Planet and jumped head-first into the vibrant eco-community.
Wow, so much to learn! But initially the idea is a pretty simple one: Let's change the world through information, education and action.
Rox & Stacy are a lot like you: ecologically minded but sometimes just plain overwhelmed when charged with the task of making a far-reaching difference in the environment. They have jobs, families, homes, lives and pets.
But what if doing better was a simple as a light-bulb change, a reusable canvas grocery bag, recycling that soda can or a cold-water wash?
These eco-chicks just hope to have a little fun, learn a little more, share a lot of information and maybe make the planet a happier, greener, cleaner place.
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