The Compost Bucket

This year, California has changed its waste separation rules.  Since the introduction of the three-bin method, the greens bin has specifically said it is not for kitchen scraps.  I've been putting gardening scraps in it that I wasn't sure were appropriate, but nothing like eggshells, coffee grounds, or meat bones.

That has all changed.  Anything organic is now supposed to be in the green bin, along with landscaping trimmings.  Anything smaller than a branch that could support a kindergartener is now getting composted. In a couple of years, they're even going to start fining people who don't separate their organic matter.  Ew, someone is going to be poking through all the trash looking for scofflaws?

I now have a container in the kitchen for organic scraps, until I feel like taking them out to the green bin.  A lot of people are probably looking at me sideways for being so behind the times.  But not a lot is going in it.  For a long time, I was saving eggshells to turn into soil amendment.  Coffee grounds are already being used as mulch for the artichokes and citrus tree.  Most of my vegetable trimmings end up in the broth bag.  I guess I'll put the spent broth trimmings in the compost bucket from now on.  And I always try my hardest not to waste food.

I was expecting the trash company to bring a little half-gallon bucket to every address, to encourage folks to follow this new statewide law and inform those who are unaware.  No such luck, so I emptied the rest of a container of coffee into the countertop jar and that will have to do until I find something cute.  Target probably has them, or maybe Home Depot; Techie Smurf has one in his kitchen, so I know they exist.

Hopefully, this new lifestyle will make a difference in how Californians approach their food.  I hope people realize how much they are wasting by seeing it separated out from ordinary, non-recyclable trash.  It's going to mean I'm hardly ever taking out the kitchen trash bag.  As it is, I only do it every other week, and only because the organic matter starts to smell.  Reduce-Reuse-Recycle may be a tired slogan, but it's starting to become an achievable goal.