Now that we’re in the meat of the holiday food season, Eugene officials say the new city-wide curbside composting program is going smoothly.
Eugene residents have been able to put kitchen scraps in their yard waste bins since October 1st. Program Manager Michael Wisth says initial concerns have not manifested: “We’ve had no complaints since the rollout of this program. So we’ve had no incidences reported of rodents, of bad smells, of anything like that.” Wisth says he watched a delivery at Rexius, and it was a healthy mix of food waste and yard debris.
Food dumped in landfills is typically half non-residential. The city has had a commercial program for years, and Wisth says its popularity has grown. “I’m happy to report that both school districts, all schools, are also part of the Love Food Not Waste program.”
The city will follow up in a year or so to see how food scraps in the trash compare to an initial survey.
For details on the program, see the City of Eugene guidelines here.