Waste diversion, food waste versus yard waste composting and DC

For almost 10 years I've been writing about how DC could do a better job with waste diversion, especially yard waste--unlike all area jurisdictions, where state requirements force them to do it, DC doesn't do yard waste diversion.  Why I don't know.

According to the EPA, food waste is about 14.6% of the waste stream, and yard waste about 13.5% of the waste stream.

I've suggested that the city needs to have two different programs based on geographic, one for the outer city, where houses tend to have larger yards and generate large amounts of yard waste, and one for the core of the city, in particular the rowhouse neighborhoods, where houses with small yards tend to (but not uniformly) generate less yard waste.

-- "A way for DC to begin adding yard waste collection as a separate element of waste collection and reduction programming," 2013

In fact, as far as the core is concerned, a program could vary by block, depending on micro-local conditions, as there are plenty of blocks in rowhouse neighborhoods, especially in Capitol Hill and Columbia Heights, that generate fair amounts of yard waste. (Note that DC does some diversion of trees and branches, especially in conjunction with post-storm clean up.)

And I suggested the city could develop the program slowly, ward by ward, as it develops the capacity and expertise to do yard waste diversion.

I bring this up because WUSA-TV reports ("Public curbside composting? It could soon be a reality in DC") that the city is close to piloting to 10,000 households a program for picking up "organic" waste.  I am motivated to write this entry because according to the story:

“Making composting accessible to residents across the District is the single most meaningful step the District can take toward meeting its Zero Waste goals,” the committee report reads. “Organic waste, which includes food and yard waste, makes up roughly a third of the District’s waste stream.”

It's true, but judging on the proposed costs of the program, they aren't focusing on yard waste at all, just food waste.  From the report:

• Opt-in mailers for all DPW-serviced households ($36,750)
• Compost caddies for 10,000 households ($200,000)
• Compostable bags (50 per household) ($24,000)
• Curbside containers (5-gallon buckets) ($360,000)
• Disposal costs ($93,600)
• Collection costs ($3,640,000
• Hauling costs ($37,440)
• Ongoing education and outreach for opt-in households ($40,000)

First, more impact would be realized by yard waste diversion more generally, and rather than opening it up to the entire city as intimated by the report, pilot the program on a geographic-specific basis.

In my opinion, the most important steps the city could take wrt waste reduction ("More on zero waste practice (and DC)," 2015) would be to:

(1) institute yard waste diversion; 

(2) develop more focused waste diversion programs for other types of waste; 

(3) working with the private sector, develop recycling and waste diversion programs for multiunit housing; 

(4) expand food waste diversion programs from the current drop off program, working with community gardens, multiunit buildings, etc.; and 

(5) incorporate food waste diversion within regular yard waste programs, which is how it's done in Salt Lake City, San Francisco and other places.  But also encourage residents who are able to do on-site composting themselves.  Montgomery County, Maryland is a national leader on this, even though they have a formal yard waste collection program anyway.

This does remind me of the point I made in response to the development of a City Sustainability Plan during the Gray Administration (2011-2014).  I said the city has no chance in becoming the most sustainable city in the US by 2032 if even now, the practices that it adopts are nowhere near the best in class practices already adopted by the nation's most sustainably focused cities.

-- "Realizing all aspects of Sustainable DC," 2013

Conclusion.  In short, it seems like this pilot program won't accomplish all that much, compared to focusing on yard waste reduction first, developing geographically specific foci, targeting the outer wards initially, creating a pilot for rowhouse neighborhoods specific to their needs, and developing the yard waste diversion program in a manner where it can also handle food waste.

While simultaneously developing special waste diversion programs for multiunit housing and the encouragement of on-site composting for those households with the yard space to accommodate it, using Montgomery County's best practice as an example ("Urban/Community composting," 2014).