SFist: Composting in Multi-Unit Apartment Buildings

Earthfriend

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:10:45 -0800

Compact composting is a relatively useful ideal. Check out my website, http://www.squidoo.com/ApartmentComposting There are bio-bags, compost starter, small compost containers--and also there is a list of things to compost that won't make your compost smell or attract rodents. I recycle myself--and I totally agree we need to stop being so wasteful

SFRecyclingdotcom

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:26:39 -0800

Response to Food Scrap Compost Collection Program (green carts) at S.F. apartment buildings Green cart compost service for the collection of food scraps, soiled paper, and yard trimmings is currently offered to all San Francisco apartment buildings at no additional charge. Over 1,600 apartment buildings throughout San Francisco already participate in this program, with more signing up every day. Some apartment building owners and managers are hesitant to participate because of the perceived “ick” factor but in reality the same material is currently going into the black cart. Concerns can be addressed with the use of compostable bags or other collections practices. When property owners start green cart service we include a sample supply of compostable bags with a kitchen pail at no additional charge to all tenants. The pails are specially designed to allow airflow, which keeps odors and moisture to a minimum. Another way to keep the green cart clean is to collect your food scraps in compostable containers. You can use paper based milk or ice cream cartons*, paper bags and newspapers to contain food scraps. In addition to using compostable bags or other paper based containment options, we recommend lining the bottom of the green cart with newspaper or yard trimmings to soak up excess moisture. If food scraps are placed in the green cart loose, the cart will need to be washed out more frequently to keep it clean and odor free.** Over 30 percent of household waste is compostable. The green cart program is an easy way to do your part for the environment by reducing the waste we send to the landfill and cutting greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to global warming. If you own or manage an apartment building and want to participate, just call your service provider and we can help you set up the program. We have a quick start guide for managers that includes a setup checklist and posters to help notify your tenants of the new green cart composting collection. If you are a tenant, request that your manager call us or, give us their information and we will call them for you. It will help sell the program to the manager if you agree to set up the program and monitor the cart in your building. We look forward to starting your green cart collection. If you want more information on our programs visit our residential services page: http://www.sfrecycling.com/residential/index.php?t=r * Paper milk and ice cream cartons are not recyclable in the blue cart, so why not use them to hold your food scraps? If you are currently recycling waxed cartons, they are a contaminant in the blue cart and are removed from the paper stream at our sorting facility and landfilled. ** I have lived in 2 different apartments in San Francisco with green cart service. Both locations stored the containers outside. In order to keep the carts clean I had to hose them out occasionally. There was never a problem with rodents. Apartment managers have reported that the green cart stays cleaner if the food scraps are contained in compostable bags or paper-based containers.

aj

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:01:27 -0800

Composting may be easy, but it's stinky. No thanks.

arood

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:57:00 -0800

Putting compostable trash into a green bin won't attract any more rodents than your trash already is--you're simply separating the same trash you're generating now and it will all get emptied each week. I like to use the compostable Bio Bags that you can purchase at any hardware/grocery store in SF to take my compost from my kitchen to the large green bin. Some benefits of compost: a lot of compost that goes into our landfills is NOT decomposing due to the lack of exposure to air. Instead it begins to release methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. City compost removal in SF is free, while your trash costs money--compost more, pay less! And finally, you're turning your waste into something usable again--you're contributing to a local food system in the Bay Area. Pretty awesome.

withak

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:09:52 -0800

The technical argument for composting is that landfill space is harder and harder to come by these days so the less stuff that goes in there the better, even if it is something that will eventually degrade. There's no need for your discarded stems from greens to be taking up space in a landfill at $50/ton when someone could be using them for something useful.

Elizabeth

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:02:35 -0800

Part of the success of the SF Recycles program is the proximity to Wine Country. Vineyards are some of the top customers for the end product. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6619306

bornandraised

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:00:09 -0800

leanne..i've never seen this done before but i have an idea...why not get a brick that is nailed on a piece of twine to the wall that the can will be next to: when the can is there the brick should be placed on top thus weighing down the lid, when the guys from scavanger come to pick up the compost they can roll out the bin and the brick will just fall on the string, thus not requiring them to deal with a random brick on top of a bin. the next person who uses the compost bin after its been cleaned can just make sure they put the brick back on top of the lid. honestly haven't thought it through enough to think of the pros/cons but a starting point!

Leanne

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:21:14 -0800

Bushy_Hyde -- I'm not sure of the exact science, but it takes paper items that are biodegradable much longer to break down in the landfill due to lack of oxygen and light, adding to the overall waste. And nutrient-rich food scraps are pretty much useless in landfills. Hence, the terms waste vs. compost. If you visit the Jepson Prairie Organics site (where all of the municipal waste compost gets sent), it will tell you how they process the compost, and what types of compost they make for wholesalers in the Bay Area, such as farm and vineyards.

RobInSF

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:04:55 -0800

With all this focus on trash, it's easy to see how morons like Newsom and the Board of Supervisors keep getting elected.

Bushy Hyde

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:03:55 -0800

"if it is compostable, it will decompose at the dump." Isn't that true though? What is the benefit of the green buckets? Not being contentious, I am actually curious.

bananaanna

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:53:14 -0800

When I asked about composting in my building, I was told, "if it is compostable, it will decompose at the dump." Gee, thanks.

IZ1

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:35:18 -0800

We put compostables in one of the (now) many paper bags we get from the grocery stores now with the plastic bag ban. (Always forget the canvas bag at home!)

whataboutprom

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:28:46 -0800

I recommend wrapping your waste, even with a covered bin. Just keep a stack of old papers and junk mail next to your bin and wrap each deposit in a sheet. It will keep your compost bin from developing nasty sludge.

megang

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:27:48 -0800

Rain, I don't get it either! Composting is so EASY! But I guess people are just super lazy! Leanne, my parents moved from LA to Idaho and it really hasn't helped the environment. In LA my dad always had at least three compost piles in the backyard before our city offered yard waste garbage service, but now that they are in Idaho their recycling program is functioning at the 1980's level and composting is no where in sight. They can pretty much only recycle aluminum cans and newspaper. No glass bottles and no tin cans. And because of the deer they can't compost so all that goes to the landfill. Oh when will the rest of the country catch on?

kmsinsf

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:26:58 -0800

Stupid Oakland doesn't even offer composting. I guess if I wasn't so lazy I could try and start or join some sort of movement to change that. What was that saying about if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem?

jacksevanroo

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:24:50 -0800

@"discarded stems from greens" Oh you hippies!

Rain

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:08:41 -0800

Leanne--Yeah. I hear yah. I just thought people here would be a little more enlightened. I also didn't mention that most of the time I have to actually remove plastic and other non-compostables from the green bin because the people in my building just. Don't. Get it.

Leanne

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:00:46 -0800

Rain -- Just imagine how it is most other places. My sister in the Midwest only recycles cans because the bottles are too heavy (?). Paper would probably boggle her mind, let alone composting. Once it becomes more convenient for people, (and trendy -- I guess it was already on Oprah?) hopefully they'll catch on. And eventually the trash companies will have to start charging more for waste above a certain weight.

Leanne

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:51:44 -0800

Oops, pistachios! I always get them confused.

Leanne

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:50:31 -0800

Eve -- we still have to convince our landlord to allow us to get the green bins, but yeah, we have two plastic/glass recycling bins, one cardboard, and one paper, all with heavy lids. It probably wouldn't be an issue if the compost could be stored outside, but the alleyway isn't an accessible area for the tenants. I guess since we're in the densely-packed Tendernob, where all the buildings are attached, and there are lots of greasy restaurants nearby, the rats are already scurrying through the basement as it is. (Gross.) But yeah, if the bin isn't overflowing and the lid is placed properly, I doubt it would be an issue either.

Rain

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:49:52 -0800

I live in a 15 unit building, and I am THE ONLY PERSON who uses the composting bin. About three months ago they left everyone in the building the little green bins, along with a roll of composting bags, and they are still just sitting outside the doors of several of the apartments here. The rest were just left downstairs by the doorway until someone (perhaps sunset scavenger?) took them away. Pisses me off to no end. It is so easy to do the composting thing, but I guess for some people, unless someone is coming into their homes and sorting their garbage for them, it's too much hassle. That said, since I am the only one putting stuff into the big green bin, they don't tend to dump it weekly, instead letting it sit down there and stink it up. But the lid is closed, and I haven't noticed any signs of rodents in my trips down to the trash area to dump my little green bags...

Angrybat

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:47:54 -0800

Cashews come in SHELLS? I thought they came out of little Planter's cans. What a world.

Eve

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:39:52 -0800

Leeanne, is your roadside compost bin one of these? If so, as long as the lid is shut rodents shouldn't be an issue, and I don't think you'd need to go through the lining and wrapping hassles. I live in a four-unit building, and we keep ours outdoors (as with the trash and recycling) and haven't had rodent issues with any (again, we keep the lids closed) in the nearly five years I've lived in the building. If you live in a 30-unit building you should qualify for multiple bins, so as long as someone ensures they get rolled out on trash day, you should be OK.

Joel

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:38:41 -0800

Yeah, we're the only ones in our six-unit building that actually uses the composting bin, so that helps keep the cover sealed on and rodent-free.

megang

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:19:07 -0800

Hmm...I'm only in a two-flat building and I haven't had any problems with rodents. We keep our small compost bin outside and empty the small green bags into our larger green bin that is also outside. Our large green bin gets picked up about every three weeks or so (my boyfriend and I are the only ones who use it). However, if you live in a large apartment building that picks up composting for 30 units more than once a week I wouldn't see rodents being a problem. Those green bins are pretty thick and the only issue would be potentially having it get knocked over by a gang of raccoons. I'm currently trying to get my office building to compost. I would say about 80% of our trash is coffee, tea, food scraps, etc. Yah composting!