Composting Initiatives
TORONTO, CANADA
by Daniel P. Kray, Editor
April 17, 2009
Toronto is way out ahead of the pack when it comes to hounding organics out of the garbage. The city's Green Bin program allows better than half a million households to separate food wastes alongside their other recyclable materials for curbside collection. A surprising variety of materials, including pet wastes and paper plates, are collected and processed into compost and biogas, a renewable energy source. Landfill use is hugely reduced along with methane otherwise released into the atmosphere, and in the end citizens get to pick up free compost for their gardens. The program has recently begun a pilot project for expansion into multi-family buildings.
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07/14/2009: Dj from Pdx, Or writes: "More communities should try this....
http://www.celsias.com/article/san-francisco-newsom-ushers-organic-composting-law/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7745641/onsite-composting-of-restaurant-organic-waste
San Francisco Organic Composting
June 24, 2009: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed the first mandatory composting policy into law requiring all residences and businesses to compost their organic waste.
74% of an average restaurant's waste stream is compostable material. Two thirds of the garbage people throw away (500,000 tons annually) can be recycled or turned into compost.
The high quality compost is in such high demand by area farms and vineyards that keeping up with demand has been a challenge. The long term benefits of compost use in the farming communities has a few years yet before an appropriate analysis may be reported, along with any decline of pesticides and fertilization in use at this current time.
The continuous savings predicted in a report by Marisa Mitchell are estimated to be $23,052 per year on current waste service expenditures. The economic benefits to the city of San Francisco regarding not only the savings of disposal but including the income from the sale of the compost have yet to be reported but are expected to be a welcome addition to the cities budget in this time of economic crisis."
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