D.C. proposes city-wide composting

The District of Columbia is following cities like New York and San Francisco in moving toward curb-side pickup of waste for composting, saying about “148,000 tons of organic waste could be composted annually — about 60 percent of the food and yard waste generated in the city each year,” the Washington Post reported.

The five-year plan could contribute to an 80-percent reduction in the city’s waste by 2032, city officials said. “We have a long way to go before we get there,” said Christopher Shorter, director of the D.C. Department of Public Works, the Post reported. “Ultimately, we are going to be a more environmentally friendly city because many more of our residents will be separating their food waste and reducing landfill, which is the ultimate goal.”

“In 2014, the D.C. Council passed the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act, followed by completion of a compost feasibility study earlier this year. The study found a growing demand for composting in the city, but a composting infrastructure that hasn’t kept up,” the paper said. Composting costs less than disposal, meaning the plan would save the city money and eventually pay for itself.

Nearby suburbs in Maryland have curbside pickup of organic waste, while Arlington, Va., accepts yard waste. Cities like Seattle, San Francisco and New York have curbside composting, the latter with a program that serves more than 2 million residents, the report noted.

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