|
|
Municipal Composting Program for Your City or CountyMunicipal composting programs benefit residents, the city and the planetMunicipal composting programs are sprouting up everywhere, and for good reason: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that close to 25 percent of solid waste in America comes from yard trimmings and food scraps. That’s a lot of bulk for already bulging city landfills.
In rural areas with many small towns, county composting programs can take up the slack from settlements that don’t have the financial resources to initiate their own programs. A county compost program typically includes the same features as one managed by a municipality, so here we’ll use “city composting program” to refer to both.
City composting in some areas is aided by school compost programs, in which yard and food waste is collected, processed and then sold back to residents at a reasonable cost. The benefit to home gardeners is they get a high-quality soil-enhancer to make their trees, flowers and shrubbery flourish while helping to clean the air.
Another benefit enjoyed by those who participate in a city composting program is improved drainage and less run-off in growing areas because of the more porous quality of the soil. And then there’s the overall benefit: composting is one of many ways people can “go green” and help preserve the health and natural resources of our planet.
More and more people are discovering that municipal composting programs are a perfect fit to their busy lives, providing them the opportunity to recycle and do their part in protecting the planet. Program rules vary from community to community, but generally the city in charge of the project encourages – and often requires – residents to collect for composting organic waste such as grass clippings, leaves, tree branches and other yard material.
Some municipal composting programs also accept food scraps, which when processed at a compost facility, make an excellent fertilizer for most types of trees and plants.
For a municipal compost program to be successful, the city must educate residents on the need and benefits of composting as well as the specific types of products the city wishes to collect. Project management must also decide how to collect the waste.
A variety of ways to gather compost
Typically, city composting programs will either pick up material in front of residents’ homes or create central drop-off sites where people can bring their debris. For smaller amounts of waste, some cities provide containers in which residents separate different types of materials.
With proper education and diligence, a municipal, school or county composting program can be beneficial to residents and to the earth in general. If your community doesn’t have a program in place, contact members of your city council and request that they look into it. You’ll be helping to return natural nutrients to the soil while preventing the overuse of our limited landfills.
|
|