If you’ve been paying attention to scientific reports, international news, or even our local weather patterns, you know that we have a serious climate problem.
As the planet heats up from greenhouse gas pollution, trapping heat like a blanket around the Earth, it causes the soil to dry up in some places – causing drought. The excess moisture absorbed from land and oceans is then deposited elsewhere, causing floods. The pollution also causes the oceans to acidify, when excess carbon dioxide is absorbed by the water and transformed into carbonic acid. The ocean hasn’t become completely acid, but it’s moving in that direction, threatening shellfish (whose shells have difficulty forming) and other sensitive marine life, like corals.
The crisis seems too big for any one person to impact, but if many of us work together to reduce the amount of carbon pollution we produce, we can make a significant difference in the bigger picture.
Here in Santa Clarita, one action we can take – and many of us do – is participating in the city’s food waste recycling program. The program was started a little over a year ago, and simply requires that we collect our food scraps, bag them, and put them in a green/organics waste bin each week. From there they’re taken to a composting facility and transformed into compost.
By participating in this program, we’re benefiting the climate in two ways. First, we’re keeping our food waste out of the landfill, where it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Decomposing food waste can also create the kind of crisis we’re experiencing right now at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, where the waste leachate catches fire and releases even more polluting gases into the atmosphere. Secondly, we’re contributing to the creation of good compost, which can be used to treat severely depleted soil. Compost-rich soil is able to hold more moisture as the planet warms and can also sequester more carbon, keeping it out of the atmosphere. Another benefit is that it produces more nutritious food when added to vegetable gardens.
So, just how much is our food waste program helping, you might ask. Well, quite a lot, even though we haven’t yet reached our goal, which is a 75% reduction in organic waste by 2025, statewide. For Santa Clarita, that would amount to just over 44,000 tons per year. In the first year of the program (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024), we kept approximately 33,000 tons of organic material out of the landfill. It’s a strong start, AND we need to increase that amount. We also need to work on making sure trash, organics (including food waste), and recyclables are consistently placed in the proper containers.
An audit this spring of waste from 4,500 homes found that just over 2,900 bins contained some sort of contamination, whether they were trash, recycling, or organics bins. Out of 6,900 bins, 4,000 had the proper waste inside, so there’s room for improvement!
If you’re unsure of what items go in which bin, you’ll find complete instructions at GreenSantaClarita.com, under “trash and recycling.” For specific food waste recycling instructions, click on “residential organics.” Also included under “trash and recycling” are “Trash Talk” videos of about 2.5 minutes each. Episode 1 (Organics 101) talks about what’s considered organic waste and what’s not. Episode 3 is a food waste tutorial: How to recycle food waste at home; and Episode 5 is about contamination.
One change from the original food waste recycling instructions is that food waste can now be placed in paper rather than plastic bags, if the bags are taped shut so they stay intact (no twist ties, though; these get tangled in the machinery). This is good news for those of us concerned about the growing plastic waste problem.
Another option for households is home composting bins. Burrtec provides up to 500 per year free of charge for residents who request them. And if you want to make the best use of your compost, check out L.A. County’s Smart Gardening Program, which offers free webinars and in-person workshops on composting, organic gardening, and water-wise and small space gardening. For the schedule, visit cleanla.lacounty.gov/smartgardening/free-classes.
Finally, if benefiting the planet doesn’t motivate you to recycle your food waste, then what about the fact that you’ll save money by reducing the size or number of your trash bins? Waste collection bills are based on the number and size of trash bins, so if most of your trash is recyclable material or green/food waste, you can use those bins and save money by requiring fewer or smaller trash bins. Bottom line: You can help yourself and the planet at the same time by recycling your food waste, so why not do it?
Cher Gilmore lives in Newhall and is a member of the Santa Clarita chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby and the SCV Eco Alliance.
