October 2015

What to keep out of your yard waste cart and why!

By: Karen Dawson, Director of Community Relations, Cedar Grove

King County residents can compost yard waste and food scraps in their curbside yard carts. The materials in the cart are taken to Cedar Grove in Maple Valley where they are made into nutrient rich compost for our gardens. It’s a great environmental benefit to take food out of the garbage and put it in the yard cart, where it can be used as a resource to make compost.

All that stuff you put in your food and yard waste cart is turned into nutrient-rich compost, including:

• Yard trimmings
• Food scraps
• Greasy pizza delivery boxes
• Food-soiled paper towels and napkins

But what you keep out of your food and yard waste bin is just as important as what you put in. Don’t put these in the yard cart:

• Fruit stickers – please remove those pesky stickers before placing them in cart; they’re plastic and don’t break down!
• Plastic bags – just because a bag is green and found in the produce section, doesn’t mean it’s compostable! If it’s plastic, it can be reused or recycled at your local grocery store.
• Milk/juice cartons – These items are typically lined with plastic and, once rinsed, are usually accepted in your recycling cart.
• Pet waste – Despite the temptation to use compostable bags for pet waste and place them in the compost cart, please don’t!

Fall is the perfect time to apply compost to lawns for planting or reseeding, to flower beds as soil amendment and to prepare yards for winter. Thank you for doing your part to keep our compost stream clean! To find out more about what’s compostable and what’s not, please visit: recyclefood.com.

Tips for Storing Food Waste

When it comes to storing food waste in your home, are you afraid of odors?

Try storing your food scraps in your freezer, or use a compost container with a carbon filter. Empty out your food scrap collection container regularly and increase the frequency in the summer. Worried about the mess? Compostable bags can help! Find a local retailer near you.

Become a Master Recycler Composter (MRC) volunteer

Apply by March 14th!

Learn how to recycle more at curbside and waste less food at home, then share what you learn through community outreach. Master Recycler Composter trainees become part of a select group of King County residents who work to improve our environmental quality of life by sharing what they have learned in the community. The program training is open to all King County residents living outside the cities of Seattle and Milton. To apply or learn more.

Announcements:

The Household Hazardous Wastemobile is in Auburn every weekend throughout the year at the Outlet Collection (formerly SuperMall), 1101 Outlet Collection Dr SW. The roving Wastemobile will be in Bothell/Kenmore/Woodinville, Redmond, Vashon and Des Moines from March - April. Check here for more details.

Celebrate Earth Day in Newcastle with the King County EcoConsumer program and many other sustainable organizations on Saturday, April 18 from 10 am-3 pm. Click here for more details.

Waste Free Earth Day event - the EcoConsumer program will be in Burien at the Recology CleanScapes Store ( Five Corners Plaza, 15840 1st Ave. S.) on April 18 from 11 am-3 pm. Drop off electronics or old bikes (working or not!) for free recycling and get 15% off most items in the store.

Fun fact

Food scraps turn into compost in 180 days! When communities divert food waste from landfills through curbside collection programs, the result is a valuable gardening product.

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