This commentary piece was authored by Signal Hill City Manager Hannah Shin-Heydorn.
If you opened up and read your last water bill, you may recall seeing a message about automated organics recycling… and you may have wondered, what is this and why should I care? If you read no further than this first paragraph, the bottom line is that three weeks from now, you’ll be receiving a new 64-gallon green cart for all your recyclable organics. If you want to know why this is happening, keep reading.
California is working hard to achieve its Zero Waste goals and organics recycling is part of their game plan. Part of those goals are focused on reducing methane and CO2 emissions from landfills. When we dispose of organic waste in landfills, it gets trapped and decomposes without oxygen, resulting in undesirable emissions. By diverting organic waste from the traditional waste stream, we can actually create nutrient-rich biofertilizer, renewable energy and fuel, extend valuable landfill space, and help preserve our environment. We have the power to do all this through the new green bin!
As we start organics recycling, there will be a learning curve and we’ll have to retrain ourselves on how we throw items away, especially in the kitchen. So what should go in the green bin?
- Food scraps: Things like chicken bones, apple cores, potato peels, egg shells, and that spoiled bag of kale that you meant to eat but never got around to.
- Food-soiled paper (wet or dry): Things like the greasy bag that held the double order of french fries (that you ate instead of the kale), the paper plate that held your spaghetti, and your paper coffee cup.
- Natural fiber products: Things like wooden chopsticks, wooden popsicle sticks, wooden coffee stirrers, and toothpicks.
Just as important as what should go in the green cart is what shouldn’t. Not only do we want to do the right thing by our environment, but the State also has the right to require “audits” of green bins and can fine individual users if they are found to be non-compliant. You’ll be receiving more information in the mail from EDCO regarding what can and cannot go in the green bin. Make sure to review the list so we don’t contaminate the organics and we help keep our collection crews safe.
One thing that won’t be changing is your collection day. Green bins will be serviced beginning on Monday, November 1, 2021. All you need to do is continue setting out all your carts by 6 a.m. on your scheduled day of service.
As you can imagine, there is much more information available about the new green bin and organics recycling. EDCO will be mailing out more information in the next few weeks, but if you absolutely can’t wait to learn more, visit the City website at https://www.cityofsignalhill.org/659/SB-1383-Organics-Recycling. Happy recycling!
