By David Goldstein –
On a recent vacation in Mexico, I thought, at first, that our neighbor to the south has a great recycling system. In most of the United States, we are implementing or improving three-container systems; we have one for trash, another for recyclables, and a third for organics such as food scraps and yard trimmings. In parts of Mexico, they have just two categories – organic and inorganic. Public cooperation with organic/inorganic separation could make recyclables easy to sort from the mixed, dry, inorganic stream, reducing the need for public education about what is recyclable and eliminating the need for a third collection route.
Looking into it more deeply, I soon found that Mexico has the same basic problems with their system that we do with ours. They, like us, need more public education about what goes in which container, and they, like us, need to convince more people to participate.
Peering inside waste containers, I found the contents of each almost indistinguishable. Worse, most local people were not able to advise me, in Spanish or English, whether a popsicle stick and paper brochure were “orgánicos o inorgánicos” in nearby containers.
Here in Ventura County, the paper would go in a recycling container and the stick in organics, but recycling coordinators working for public agencies and private haulers are focusing outreach on food scraps, which are the most common organics mistakenly placed in garbage cans. People seem to know food should be composted, but reluctance to participate may be simply because dealing separately with food scraps can seem gross.
Here are some tips to minimize mess and smells while correctly managing organics in kitchens: Avoid fruit flies and odors by using a pail with a lid or a sealable container to store your food scraps but empty it regularly to avoid a big odor from escaping each time you lift the lid. Line the inside of your container with a plastic bag, newspaper, cardboard, or brown paper bags to keep it clean. Avoid residue and odor by sprinkling empty containers with baking soda, and if residue sticks, rinse the container with soap and warm water. Castile soap can also deter ants.
Some people find these measures too difficult or unpleasant, so they use a different solution. They store food scraps in a bag in their freezer, emptying the bag into their curbside organics cart only the day before collection.
In addition to the two-way separation program, Mexican cities also used another collection method that has some advantages. In public areas, people place used cans and bottles into wire sculptures. It was hard to tell how often people simply discarded cans and bottles into the nearest receptacle, rather than take a few extra steps and open a sculpture, but at least the open wire seemed to prevent contamination by making it obvious what was intended and what each person was adding. Clear signs, public education, and making actions visible to others seemed to boost cooperation with recycling programs.
Ventura County Public Works Agency Environmental Resource Analyst David Goldstein may be reached at (805) 658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org
