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Composting Organics Made Available In Denver

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Oct 6, 2008 5:58 pm US/Mountain

Composting Organics Made Available In Denver

Reporting
Paul Day
DENVER (CBS4) ― Last night's leftovers, dog bones, greasy pizza boxes, even rotten crab apples can now be recycled by some Denver residents.

"I think the timing is right for this program," said Charlotte Pitt with Denver Recycles, a section of Denver Public Works.

The city is launching a pilot program for recycling organic waste.

"With the Green movement that's happening right now, people are open to doing more," Pitt said.

People like Marcia Cutler, a homeowner in West Washington Park.

"The next natural step was food waste," she said.

Cutler was already an aggressive recycler, but now she's one of 1,000 participants in the city's Composting Collection Pilot Program.

She takes the time to put everything from food scraps to used coffee filters into a small container which -- when full -- she empties into a backyard cart supplied by the city.

"It is disgusting," she admitted to a CBS4 crew as they all peered into her cart

But she says she's glad to do it because it reduces the amount of garbage her family sends to the landfill by two thirds.

"The yuk factor, in our opinion, is just a perceived yuk factor," Pitt said.

The city has provided participants with guidelines for dealing with issues like odor as well as bugs and rodents.

"The reality is when you put this into a container, it really is not nasty." she contended.

The organic waste is picked up by crews from Denver Public Works and hauled to a commercial composter outside the city.

The end product is high quality compost suitable for yards and gardens.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper says only a few other cities in the country provide recycling of organic waste.

"It's very innovative," he told reporters at a media event organized to launch the Pilot Project.

Hickenlooper said recycling organics will help minimize the creation of intense greenhouse gases like methane at local landfills.

Funding for the Pilot Project comes from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and other sources.

It's free to participants.

Right now, Denver is attempting to recruit 2,300 additional households.

Those interested in participating or simply would like to learn more, call 311 in Denver or go online to DenverGov.org/DenverRecycles.

The Pilot Project will last until June 2009. It will be evaluated at that time and depending on the outcome it could be expanded city-wide.

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