Policy Order O-3

WHEREAS: One of the simplest ways to combat climate change is to keep our food scraps out of the landfill; and

WHEREAS: Composting is one way to keep food waste out of landfills but according to the Environmental Protection Agency, only about 3 percent of food scraps are composted; and

WHEREAS: Food and yard waste comprises at least a quarter of our nation's landfills, where it decomposes, releasing methane gas. Methane contributes to global warming about 70 times more than the carbon dioxide generated by burning fossil fuels; and

WHEREAS: In some areas, food scraps account for nearly 33% of most people's trash. Instead of having organic material and food scraps (compost) being sent to landfills, it could be used beneficially; and

WHEREAS: Since 2004, San Francisco has provided weekly curbside food-waste collection. The program trucks 300 tons of food waste a day to a nearby compost facility, which then sells the fertilizer produced to nearby farms and vineyards; and

WHEREAS: Seattle provides weekly pickup for 150,000 single-family homes. Curbside composting is not just in big cities: in Hutchinson, Minnesota (pop. 13,300), residents who use the pickup service and recycle have helped to reduce the city's landfill waste by 75 percent; and

WHEREAS: Last year, the towns of Hamilton and Wenham, Massachusetts implemented the first Curbside Composting Program in New England  in a unique collaboration between the Hamilton and Wentham Recycling Committees and Peter Britton, local owner of Brick Ends Farm in Hamilton. Since its implementation, the program has removed approximately 700 pounds of kitchen waste per household from trash collection, thus reducing trash collection costs. Participants are also receiving free local compost and the knowledge that they are contributing to the environment. Additionally, this program has fostered a renewed interest in community gardening that in turn has promoted resident interaction and the production of fresh, local produce; and

WHEREAS: If properly done, curb side composting should have no impact on the rat population as other cities have created specific composting bins to deter rats; and

WHEREAS: Setting up a food-waste composting facility actually costs less than building a new landfill, plus compost can be sold to offset the initial expenses incurred implementing the program; now therefore be it

ORDERED: That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to direct the appropriate department heads to develop a plan and timeline for the implementation of a curb side composting program following on the success of our single stream recycling and report back to the City Council.