LA is Collecting Left-Overs: Hungry for Change

Wendy Cohen August 13, 2008 | 2:21 pm EST

Leave something extra on your plate? Unused eggshells from cooking? What about all those coffee grounds? Los Angeles is asking a group of residents to recycle these and other leftovers for an experimental garbage pickup program.

Here is how it works:

The Bureau of Sanitation will distribute 2-gallon kitchen pails to 5000 households in Harbor Gateway, Lincoln Heights and South Los Angeles and residents are asked to dispose of food and “food-soiled” materials like pizza boxes.

A 2002 survey found that single-family homes generate 230,000 tons of food waste annually that could be turned into compost. That survey found nearly 27% of the garbage in the black bins was food waste.

If this program becomes citywide, it could divert as much as 600 tons of waste from landfills.

takepart and learn how to compost!

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