Northwood News ♦ October 2018
Interested in Food Composting?
By Kevin Harris
Did you know that composting food scraps could cut down on our solid waste stream by
up to 33 percent, according to the EPA? Right now, local communities — including
Woodmoor, Takoma Park, and Falls Church — are participating in a food scrap composting
program run by a local company called The Compost Crew. If we get 15 families to sign
up, we can start a weekly curbside food scrap composting pickup program right here in
our neighborhood.
Why Compost?
- Composting diverts our food scraps from landfills and incinerators.
Our landfills are filling up, leading to longer and longer hauling distances, higher greenhouse gas emissions, higher waste management costs, and less space available for our trash. Composting could cut back our solid waste stream by as much as 33 percent (source: epa.gov).
When food scraps are left in a landfill or incinerated, they release CO2, a greenhouse gas.
- Composting is a sustainable alternative that puts the nutrients from our food scraps back into the earth and, eventually, our food system by using the finished compost as a fertilizer for local farms.
- Composting is the final step to completing a truly sustainable food cycle system.
How it Works
If 15 families sign up, we can start getting compost buckets (the same size as Home Depot
five-gallon buckets) picked up curbside on a weekly basis. The buckets are sealed tight,
odorless, leak proof, and rodent proof. Our four-person family has been testing this program
for the last two months and we’ve cut our solid waste trash by over 50 percent. We
now throw out about three-quarters of a bag of trash per week.
The Compost Crew bins (in front of a county ‘big blue’ paper recycling bin and
a regular trash can) come in two sizes, depending on the amount of compostable waste your home
produces: a five-gallon size (front left) and a 12-gallon (right).
We keep a small bin in our kitchen and then transfer that to the Compost Crew bucket in the
garage. We use plastic composting bags, similar to what they have now in Trader Joe’s,
to line our bins, but it’s not required.
What Can Be Composted?
Because the composted materials are heat-treated, even items you would never consider compostable
— such as meat and fish bones, as well as dairy products — are permitted.
The Compost Crew truck comes by once a week to empty your bin, which just needs to be
visible from the curb.
Besides
“the usual” items — such as egg shells, fruit peels, vegetable bits, coffee grounds
and filters, and tea bags — carbs like bread and pasta are allowed, as are compostable goods
such as paper and paper towels. Meat, bones, fish, shells, dairy, cheese, butter, and yogurt
are also accepted.
How Much Does it Cost?
Compost Crew is offering a two-month special for $34 per household. The price after that
is dependent on how many families we can get signed up. Right now, it looks like the
monthly fee could range from $18 to $30 per month.
How to Get Started
Please email me [contact details redacted] and let me know if you’re interested.
I’ll reach out and, once we reach our critical mass of 15 families, we can get started.
If you want to find out more, please visit the Compost Crew website at www.compostcrew.com. Thanks! ■
