At last there’s somewhere ecologically friendly to dispose of those bulky pizza boxes – the green waste cart in your own yard.
Starting March 1, Danville residents are taking part in a Food Waste Recycling Pilot Program aimed at reducing the amount of garbage put into landfills that could be composted. Under the program, food scraps such as vegetable peelings, bones, eggshells, coffee grounds, cheese and dairy scraps, and used paper towels and napkins can go into the yard-waste container.
“We chose Danville because it has the highest diversion rate,” said Tom Remigio, recycling manager for Valley Waste Management, the residential recycling company under the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority.
Danville diverted 62 percent of its waste in 2003, the latest year with available figures, said Sharon Maves, interim executive director of the Waste Authority. Moraga was second highest in the area at 58 percent; Walnut Creek diverted 55 percent; Orinda, 53 percent; and Lafayette, 48 percent.
Valley Waste Management provided every residence in Danville with a plastic kitchen container to keep under the sink. The container has a snap-on lid designed to prevent odors. Residents may either collect their table scraps in the kitchen collector or carry them out to the yard-waste container each night. Newspapers or paper grocery bags can be used but plastic is not compostable. This includes coated paper plates, cups and milk cartons.
The collected food scraps and green waste are transported to the Newby Island composting facility in Milpitas, said Remigio. Although it’s called “recycling,” most of the food waste will be composted, that is, the organic materials will be broken down into fertile soil. This enables residents to compost food-soiled paper and other items not recommended for backyard composting.
The composted materials are sold commercially. “The biggest consumer for our food waste program is our Napa Valley wineries,” Remigio said. “They love it.”
The pilot program will last until the end of August. At that time, residents will receive a survey asking questions about the effectiveness and convenience of the food scraps collection program. The authority’s board of directors and staff members will review the responses to determine if the program should continue and be expanded to the other areas. There is no extra charge for the program.
The state mandates that communities must recycle 50 percent of their waste, which goal Contra Costa County reached several years ago.
“We’re still far behind our sister county, Alameda, and San Francisco,” Remigio said. “I wish we would do as a society as San Francisco does. They’re thinking of 75 percent and we’re still at 50 percent.”
“Our ultimate goal is zero waste,” he added.
According to food audits, 10 percent of local table scraps in the county are being put into the waste stream that could be diverted.
Learn about composting
Composting workshops will be held in Danville, Walnut Creek, Orinda, Lafayette, San Ramon and Moraga throughout the spring. A basic and worm composting workshop is scheduled for 9-10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 22, at Hap Magee Ranch Park in Danville. For more information on home composting, call 906-1806.
