In Northern California and other states, local governments are making a big push to divert tons of waste from landfills with county or city-wide composting programs.
One of the strictest programs is in place in San Francisco. In 2009, the city enacted new regulations that made gathering compostable waste mandatory for all businesses and residences. Alameda County’s waste management authority has proposed a mandatory composting plan. It aims to divert 90 percent of waste from local landfills in the next 10 years.
The potential impact of mandatory composting could be huge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 report on municipal solid waste, food scraps make up about 33 percent of all discarded waste in local landfills; that's more than any other material that people throw out.
Here in Los Angeles, that number could be even higher because of our dense population. If we could get a third of all solid waste out of landfills and turn it into a usable resource it could make a big difference for the Southland's enormous garbage problem.
Jeremy Drake, member of the Sierra Club's Zero Waste Coalition, said aside from reducing discarded waste, the products of composting could be used to help reduce dependence on irrigation and petrochemical fertilizers in agriculture.
"Three million tons of organic waste is being thrown in landfills in L.A. County every year. There are ways that we can manage that material in a responsible way," Drake said. "People might forget that four of the most productive agricultural counties are in Southern California."
But the Los Angeles County Disposal Association's Ron Saldana said L.A. may face trouble implementing large-scale composting precisely because of its high population numbers.
"In Southern California it's pretty hard to find an area that isn't heavily populated. The permitting becomes, I think, the number one restriction. And certainly we do have to add these facilities, and the industry is working hard with all of the regulatory agencies to try to get more facilities online."
Compost is essentially rotting food, especially when you add more than just fruits and vegetables into the mix. They're not only smelly but they generate an enormous amount of heat and could even be a fire hazard. "Out of sight, out of mind ... [neighborhoods] just do not want these types of facilities in their area," Saldana said.
According to Saldana, compostable waste is already trucked out of the region because there aren’t enough facilities in the region, adding to costs.
"If you look at collection rates in Northern California compared to Southern California, it's not unusual to see many cities and many residents in those cities paying two to three times more ... than in Southern California," Saldana said Monday. "If you're going to recycle, that's great and we want to do it, but somewhere along the line somebody’s going to pay for it."
WEIGH IN:
Do the costs of composting outweigh the benefits? Is a county-wide program a possibility here or do southern California's unique challenges make one impossible? Where do you stand on composting? Do you do it yourself or would you rather keep your food scraps out of sight and out of mind?
Guests:
Jeremy Drake, member of the Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter, Zero Waste Coalition
Ron Saldana, executive director, Los Angeles County Disposal Association, a trade group representing trash haulers and facility managers