Greasy pizza boxes, used coffee grounds and rotting heads of lettuce used to be garbage for many Snohomish County households.
But starting in March, all of the above and much more will be easily recyclable for some people in the county.
Waste Management and Allied Waste, two of the county’s largest garbage haulers, will allow some customers to simply throw such kitchen scraps into their yard waste bins.
It means things such as carrot tops and watermelon rinds can be recycled as well as paper products such as fast food bags, all thanks to new high-tech composting facilities at Cedar Grove Composting in Everett.
Though not all residential customers of the haulers will be eligible right away, it’s a service that could be coming soon to more than 45,000 households.
Gary Trunkhill, a site manager for Allied Waste, also known as Rabanco or Lynnwood Disposal, expects participation to start out slowly and grow exponentially, just as yard waste recycling has grown over the past decade.
“It’s going to be big,” Trunkhill said. “This is an enhancement to the program.”
Other haulers in Snohomish County are looking into the idea.
Rubatino Refuse Removal, which serves most of Everett and parts of Mukilteo, is considering offering the service eventually.
Recycling organic waste isn’t exactly a new idea.
Local composting companies have been turning residential yard waste into black gold for gardens for more than a decade, and backyard gardeners have added vegetable scraps to their home compost piles for ages.
Combining vegetable and yard wastes on such a large scale, however, is cutting-edge recycling, said Snohomish County planner Sego Jackson.
“It’s the next wave. Food waste and yard debris make really good compost,” Jackson said, citing already successful food-waste recycling programs in King County, British Columbia and California. “I think that you’ll find, over the next decade, this will be just another typical part of your curbside service.”
Cedar Grove Composting of Everett has been a major catalyst for food waste recycling in the region.
In October 2004, the company opened a state-of-the-art composting facility on Smith Island in Everett. It is specially designed and permitted to turn yard and food wastes into garden compost, along with another facility in Maple Valley.
Not only will the company’s technology turn organic wastes into a valuable product, but it also will mean a much shorter trip for the food waste.
Since March 1992, Snohomish County has sent its garbage more than 350 miles away to the Roosevelt Landfill in Klickitat County.
That’s why customers who take part in the food waste recycling will actually make a local impact, said Steve Goldstein, another Snohomish County planner.
“When you generate a pizza box or a head of lettuce that’s gone bad, it just goes right up to Cedar Grove,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be transported halfway across the state.”
Food waste recycling could mean savings for yard waste subscribers who produce large amounts of vegetable scraps, Trunkhill said.
“It’s half the price to get rid of your yard waste,” he said, comparing the costs to garbage disposal. “It makes all the sense in the world.”
Jackson said the beauty of the two haulers’ new programs is that they won’t force customers to do anything new.
“We’d love for people to do it, but if the ‘ick’ factor is a bother to your family, you don’t have to do it,” he said. “People are going to find their own system and try different things out.”
Though food waste recycling might require small changes for participating households – such as a bucket in the kitchen to gather scraps – Jackson believes the long-term payoffs will be tremendous.
“Why would we want to ship this stuff so far away, when we can actually have it utilized by businesses in our own community, creating jobs and producing products we can use in our landscapes?” Jackson said. “Kids are growing up expecting to be able to recycle. As the compost programs evolve over time, we’re going to have a whole new generation that would think you were nuts if you were putting food in the garbage.”
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@ heraldnet.com.
Two of the county’s largest garbage and recycling haulers, Waste Management and Allied Waste, will invite some of their yard waste customers to throw a wide range of organic materials into their yard waste bins along with their garden debris starting March 1.
Because of continuing negotiations with cities throughout the county, not all customers will be eligible right away.
Customers should receive notices in the mail explaining when their households are eligible and what exactly will be recyclable.
Check with your hauler for more information.
Waste Management NW
800-592-9995
Allied Waste, also known as Rabanco or Lynnwood Disposal
425-646-2400
Rubatino Refuse Removal
425-259-0044
Snohomish County Solid Waste
425-388-3425
Food waste recycling usually requires a container with a lid in the kitchen to store vegetable scraps before you take them out to the compost pile or, if it’s accepted by your garbage hauler, your yard waste bin.
While any container with a tight-fitting lid will work, Norpro, a wholesale company based in Everett, sells two types of kitchen compost keepers, one stainless steel and another of porcelain, through local retailers and online. Both containers have charcoal filters to keep odors under control.
Many other companies also make kitchen compost containers. Check the following two vendors for Norpro products, including compost keepers, or see www.amazon.com.
J. Matheson Kitchen &Gourmet
2609 Colby Ave.
Everett
425-258-4589
Pacific Wine &Kitchen
6915 Evergreen Way,
Everett 425-353-6468
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