In late September, the City of Austin expanded its compost services, providing an additional 53,000 Austin homes with new green compost bins. Now, nearly three-quarters of curbside customers can dispose of organic waste in the compost bins instead of putting it in the usual trash bins.
With studies showing that nearly half of what people typically put in their trash could be composted, the move to curbside compost collection makes perfect sense. This is true for scientific reasons; compostable materials don’t decompose properly in landfills and they release methane, a destructive greenhouse gas. Curbside compostable collections, on the other hand, are sent to a local facility where they break down properly and are re-used as garden soil and organic fertilizer.
In addition, composting can save you money by reducing the amount of trash you throw out. The less you throw away, the smaller trash bin you can opt for. This reduces the amount you must pay for waste disposal. For example, trash pickup costs $43.50 per month for large, 96-gallon bins, while it only costs $18.55 for small, 24-gallon bins. And with pickup being scheduled weekly at the same time as your regular trash collection, the process is as easy as rolling your compost bin out to the street along with your regular trash can.
What can you put in the compost bin? The answer is all food scraps, including meat and dairy waste that you can’t use for backyard composting. In addition, you can add yard clippings (provided they fit in the bins) as well and food-soiled paper such as pizza boxes or greasy paper towels that can’t go in the regular paper recycling bins. Fats, oils and cooking grease cannot go in the compost bins, although those can be taken to the Recycle and Reuse Drop-Off Center.The composting program is part of the city’s Zero Waste goal, which strives to reduce the amount of material dumped in area landfills by 90% by 2040. Austin Resource Recovery hopes to extend the curbside composting program to the remaining customers by next year, once funding is approved by the Austin City Council. For more information, check out these FAQs.