For several years, I have been working with city staff to identify a way to collect household compost as a city program.
The U.S. EPA reports that the average American throws away 1-2 pounds of compostable materials each day. This comprises approximately 20-30 percent of our landfill space.
In central Ohio, SWACO has been promoting efforts to divert food (and other compost) waste from the landfills through comprehensive public messaging campaigns and trial programs for composting.
After researching a variety of residential compost programs, we decided it would make sense start with a trial program. Thanks to some funding support from SWACO, the city has begun a voluntary program.
Read more about it here.
As a participant, I am happy to report it is a smooth program and it is easy to get started. Within one month, my family has composted 10 gallons of compostable food scraps.
Through nearly 300 residents are participating, I hope more residents will get involved. If there is enough participation city-wide, we will look into a more comprehensive program.