"compost" news and stories

The meal is done: Dishes hit the sink; plastic bottles and tin cans go into the recycling bin. But the scraps from dinner and cooking prep -- egg shells, garlic skins, vegetable stems and cheese rinds? A few counties in California have come up with a simple, smart solution for utilizing those, too.

"You put a small bin on your kitchen counter, divert all your organic waste into it, and then just dump it in the larger bin outside when it's full. The rest is taken care of," says Sarah Rich, co-founder of Foodprint Project, a traveling advocacy group and educational panel on urban agricultural. The larger bin is picked up at the end of the week during regular garbage collection. "You don't need to be a gardener yourself in order to make good use of your food scraps," she says. Foodprint Project was formed early this year to evaluate the viability and potential of local food in urban areas. So far, they've hosted panels in New York City and Toronto, and this coming January, they're headed for Los Angeles.

If you look at a landfill, most of the waste is food -- it'll decompose, sure, but then what? Where does all that nutrient-rich soil go? That was the thinking behind the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority's new Food Scrap Recycling Program, which started in September 2007 and is expanding this month to California's Walnut Creek area, along with existing areas: Lafayette, Orinda, and Moraga in Contra Costa County.

What goes around, comes around -- and in Seattle these days, that's truer than ever. Seattle's restaurants may have taken a blow when the city began requiring compostable serviceware, but the world of compost is about to boom. The city's new law goes into effect this week, and according to the Seattle Times, at least one company is preparing to pick up some major new business.

Cedar Grove, which has one location in the Seattle suburb of Everett, WA, has reportedly contracted with about half the 3,400 or so restaurants in the Seattle area, and is readying itself for the onslaught of biodegradable cups, trays, and wrappings. Cedar Grove spokesperson Susan Thoman told Slashfood, "Historically we've experienced incremental increases, but we're totally prepared and ready to take in new volumes that come in from the new ordinance. We do have the capacity, and we're working collaboratively with the city."

Seattle is giving Portland, Ore., a run for its money when it comes to being the most eco-forward city in the Pacific Northwest.

With a ban on Styrofoam in restaurants and grocery stores going into effect on July 1, the city's Metropolitan Market chain and other businesses have come up with a clever packaging solution -- compostable meat trays made of corn, KPLU reported.

Made by Illinois-based Pactiv, the tan trays can be used for meat, fish and poultry and then tossed into the compost pile along with other food waste, the radio station reported.

Pactiv also makes Hefty products. The company launched its EarthChoice brand of nearly 80 sustainable packaging products including cups, hinged-lid containers, plates, and straws in May.

Are you sick of dealing with leaked moisture and gelatinous goo in your waste receptacles?

It's just crazy how much compostable food gets thrown into the trash. If you don't have a green bin program where you live, or were interested in the ease of composting, you've got to check out this ridiculously informative guide over at Grist.

They have a bunch of informative links from where to get supplies to videos about the wormy goodness of vermicomposting. Heck, if you're really adventurous, you could even look into composting toilets, where your fecal matter gets broken down and then you bury it in the yard. But don't let steps like that scare you -- the composting basics are as easy as pie, and a lot less fecally intimidating.

Just imagine the nice, organic results you can get for your herb or vegetable garden!

[via Culinate]