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From October 1999 to May 2001, the Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) conducted a study on
the economics and effectiveness of the curbside collection of residential organics. CSWD wanted
to determine: 1) how much material could be diverted using this waste diversion strategy, 2)
if CSWD residents were willing to separate food scraps and non-recyclable paper from their trash,
3) if collection container liners made a difference in participation, 4) if the quality and
marketability of the resulting compost were satisfactory, and 5) if there were collection or
processing obstacles to implementing a permanent program.
The pilot project was conducted in three Chittenden County neighborhoods. Of the 558 households
invited to participate in the project, 265 agreed to do so. These households received 65-gallon
aerated carts and 2.5-gallon kitchen bins. Half of the participating households also received
compostable liners for their kitchen bins. Participants were asked to place food scraps,
non-recyclable paper (including waxed cardboard and wet-strength and laminated boxboard), and
yard debris in the carts for pickup for 3* months beginning in January 2000. When collection
was extended for an additional 4* months, 203 households agreed to continue.
Organic materials were collected using a semi-automated collection vehicle biweekly for five
months and weekly for three months during the summer. The materials were delivered to Intervale Compost Products for processing, analysis, and marketing.
A total of 47.7 tons were collected from households. During the winter, when only food scraps
and non-recyclable paper were being generated by participants, an average of 7.6 pounds per
household per week were collected. When yard waste was being generated, an average of 16.6
pounds per household per week were collected.
Results of the post-pilot survey suggest a strong public support base for curbside organics
collection in Chittenden County. Liners did not appear to make a difference in participation.
There were no major collection or processing issues. The compost produced from the collected
materials was of good quality and was marketed with the compost facility's standard compost.
If full participation in the more densely-populated municipalities is obtained in an organics
collection program, CSWD estimates that an additional 9,300 tons of organic matter or 19.8% of
the total District residential waste stream could be collected for composting annually. This
figure excludes yard waste, which would be collected in a permanent program, but is already
being diverted from landfill disposal. If a more realistic 50% participation is obtained in
those same communities, approximately 4,600 tons or 9.9% of the District residential waste
stream could be collected for composting annually.
Since yard waste collection is not currently offered to households, adding curbside collection
of organics to the existing collection system would be expensive; a restructuring of the whole
collection system would be required to keep collection costs down. If single-stream recycling
and biweekly collection of recyclables and trash were implemented, the reduction in collection
costs that would be realized would potentially cover the costs of adding organics collection
routes (excluding the cost for carts). The impact of the high initial capital costs could be
reduced by implementing the program over 2-3 years. |
