You may have noticed the stickers on the park trash cans by now: “PLEASE PACK IT OUT! Contents of this can go directly to a landfill. Take it home for compost. Mother Earth will love you for it!” Unfortunately I first noticed the sign while tossing a banana peel on the way to the pool. Next time I’ll have a backup plan.
I had assumed this was just the city’s cute way of urging us to use our new city-provided food and yard waste carts, but apparently it’s part of an unpopular money-saving effort. Let’s hope the park doesn’t become littered with trash as the angry commenters predict. I’m personally more worried about dog walkers being discouraged from picking up after their pups if they have to pack it out all the way home.
But back to the more pleasant subject of the little green food and yard waste carts, take a look at What’s Accepted as Food & Yard Waste on Seattle.gov if you’re unclear on what’s OK to compost. The A-Z Item Index is a pretty fun read, too. I just learned a lot.
