Video: Inside look at all Seattle’s food at the landfill
Mar 5, 2015, 3:58 PM | Updated: 4:40 pm
If you haven’t heard by now that Seattle is making you compost, there’s a new video to illustrate how important it is to separate your trash.
Seattle Public Utilities released the video Thursday to show us the vast quantities – 100,000 tons every year, in fact – of food that ends up at the landfill in Oregon. The video, set to pretty ominous music, claimed 30 percent of Seattle’s garbage is compost.
Since the first of the year, it’s against the rules to toss your pizza box into the recycling bin, even though it’s made of cardboard. Instead, it should be composted alongside your egg shells and paper towels.
The mayor signed the ordinance into law last year with a goal of diverting 38,000 more tons of food scraps every year. Seattle Parks said it uses the compost at local parks and gardens.
The city wants to be recycling or composting 60 percent of its waste by 2015.
SPU wants you to put all organics into the yard or food waste bin. If you’re still confused about what’s acceptable to throw in the garbage, recycling or compost bin, you’re not alone. The good news? The city has a guide just for you.
“Compost what you can,” the video says. But if you can’t, you’ll be fined $1 per violation starting in July. The fine is $50 for a commercial or apartment building.
Garbage collectors will reportedly peek in the trash bin to see if more than 10 percent of the waste is food scraps and recyclable materials.
