We need to rethink the system.
There is a lot of emphasis on recycling in the fight to reduce the staggering waste we have in the US. While recycling is an important piece of the puzzle, I can’t help but think of the piece that does not get the attention it deserves. Composting.
More and more people are learning about composting and its benefits. But, we still are lagging in adoption.
Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste, which can be composted, make up 30% of what we throw away. By composting, the material is kept out of landfills, and greenhouse gas emissions are prevented, lowering our carbon footprint.
Composting can be hard and time-consuming. If you are fortunate enough to have a backyard, you can buy a big bucket and start there. However, a lot of us don’t have enough space to make this feasible, so we are left to collect our scraps in a small bin and then find a neighbor, a local farmers’ market or a local composting site to take it.
Let’s face it; most people won’t take the time to adopt this very involved habit.
Why is composting such a hassle? For the most part, trash and recycling have been engrained processes for us. Why not composting? We’ve always been told to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” but it's time composting became rooted in the definition of reducing.
In 2018, 198.4 million tons of municipal waste were sent to landfills. Approximately 69 million tons were recycled, and only 25 million tons were composted. This means we are only recycling and composting at a 32% rate. This needs to get better.
Here’s my proposition.
Encourage composting in local apartment complexes.
How would this work? Currently, residents have two options: trash and recycle. If they want to compost (assuming they know about the process), they need space that they don’t have or the flexibility to travel to waste collection sites.
Trash and recycling collection are both government-run operations. Why not composting?
By partnering with local cities and towns, small compost collection bins will be donated in exchange for ease of burden for local trash collection. The town or city will also hire compost collection workers for weekly pickup at each apartment (stagger dates), creating local jobs. Property management companies will be offered a tax credit from the city if they choose to participate.
Apartment residents will be provided the compost bins free of charge with instructions so users know what they can put in the bins. A summarized explanation of the benefits and impact of composting will also be provided.
By providing a compost bin and pick-up services to each resident, composting will become an ingrained and normalized process like trash and recycling.
The pick-up teams will disperse the compost to the recycling centers and local farmers’ markets. Once this scales, the compost can be distributed to local farms, gardens, and businesses that would benefit.
Current composting options in many cities require people to drop off waste at waste and recycling centers or farmers’ markets during regular hours of operation. This is both time-consuming and not feasible for the average person.
By partnering with the local government, we normalize the composting process, create jobs, and reduce landfill waste.
The success of this plan will be tracked at the local level in three ways:
1. Number of apartments that sign up for the program
Property management companies will be contacted two months in advance of launch to gauge interest.
2. Number of compost bins provided to residents
Bins will be provided over a one-month period to prevent lags, backlog, and any launch difficulties. The number of bins will be measured after all apartments receive them and measured again six months later.
3. Amount of compost being transported to recycling centers and farmers markets
Prior to launch, the amount of compost at recycling centers and farmers’ markets will be recorded. This will be compared to the amount collected every month thereafter for one year.
There is a huge need to increase the adoption of composting. Not enough people do it because it’s difficult, time-consuming, and inefficient.
If you read my proposal, please let me know your thoughts and ideas. All good social innovation requires iteration and validation. I hope that if we work together, we can find a solution that will make a real change.
See you next time.
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