Compost Thoughts

This post is more of a ramble than anything else, I feel that food scraps are a relatively low hanging fruit for removing from the garbage cycle - good for the soil, nature, and landfill lifetimes. People like me are lazy, but if the infrastructure is there, then I at least pounced on the chance to compost.

But about the infrastructure, in Seattle it's mandatory to compost but if there's a way to make a mistake, people probably will. In this case, the right bag to use. I think at grocery stores, people mistakenly think that the produce bags are compostable... But they're not which is why I buy compostable bags, use them at the grocery store to bag them then take them home.

Approved list of compostable bag brands (I've been looking for this for a while): http://www.seattle.gov/util/MyServices/FoodYard/HouseResidents/ApprovedCompostableBags/index.htm

So I guess my dream is for every country in the world to embrace composting, and some do already some don't, it's not widespread in the USA. To get there, we need to have a market for it, as well as the ability to make quality compost. It seems like an interesting challenge, but starting locally, I find myself too shy to just ask local restaurants what they do with food waste... Or even local schools, it seems like it'd be educational for students to compost, too, but I don't recall ever seeing that kind of program.

But if I were to have ghost helpers to do my bidding, and given existing curbside composting services, I'd like, to start with:

• to know overall composting rates in my city where it's not mandatory to compost
• composting rates in my neighborhood
• know how to encourage composting rates locally, at residences and/or restaurants
• see composting programs at schools
• find or make a website on composting steps, 1-2-3

Articles:
http://kuow.drupal.publicbroadcasting.net/post/seattle-youre-composting-wrong-so-bag-laws-may-change-again
https://www.opb.org/news/article/urban-composting-programs-take-root-in-the-northwe/