KPLU Local News
(2009-12-21)
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CleanScapes President Chris Martin, in front of 9 trucks, representing the number of hauling trips that would be unnecessary if a contest is successful. It promotes reducing overall trash and recycling volumes. The plastic bottles represent the number used (and tossed) each year by an average Seattle family.
KPLU
Seattle residents are doing a pretty good job at sorting out their recyclables and food waste. But overall, it still adds up to a lot of waste to be trucked to a far-away final destination.
Chris Martin, President of CleanScapes, a local garbage hauling company that earlier this year took over the contract for many Seattle neighborhoods, says, "It takes the same big trucks to pick it up and the same amount of energy to process it, etcetera."
Of course the recyclables and compostables do have a second life - as opposed to trash that ends in a landfill.
CleanScapes is pushing the idea to "reduce and reuse," before you think of recycling. For example, fill your own water bottle instead of buying bottled water. Use a cloth towel instead of paper towels. Their number one tip: Replace the blade on your lawn mower, for about $30, with a mulching blade and leave the clippings on the lawn.
To promote the idea of reducing, there's a contest, pitting five Seattle neighborhoods against one another (including Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Montlake, and Leschi). Whichever can reduce their overall combined waste the most will win a $50,000 prize, such as a new playground. CleanScapes expects to earn back that much through incentives in its contract with the city. A similar contest is underway in the town of Shoreline.
Seattle Public Utilities Acting Director Ray Hoffman says the goal is to reduce overall waste by 10%. For the five competing neighborhoods, Hoffman says that would add up to 72 tons a day, or nine fewer trips a day to transfer stations and to the dumps.
Contest details are available from the Cleanscapes website.
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