Recycling Help, Please

Yvonne G

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As of 2021 California is supposed to separate out food waste from their garbage and put it into the greenwaste bin. I'm curious - when the greenwaste truck goes to the land fill doesn't he back his truck up to the same spot where the garbage truck dumped his load? And so, isn't our food waste/greenwaste now still going into the same landfill as it used to go into?

My problem is I take my garbage over to my daughter's house and put it into her garbage cans. Because she lives on 5 acres and has lots of greenwaste, her bin is always full by the time I get there. So what am I to do with my food waste (egg shells, orange peels, coffee grounds, left over food, etc)?

Being an old person, and living alone, I really don't have too much food waste, but what little I do have, what am I now supposed to do with it? If I bury it (but where?) aren't I still contributing to the greenhouse gas problem they're trying to eliminate? I don't get it.

I really would like some constructive help with this, not a debate or an argument.
 

Markw84

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I know here in Sacramento County, the green waste is dumped in a different location. Also, Food scraps and food garbage are not to be put in green waste. Green waste is Plant material only. Grass clippings, leaves, plant trimmings, brush, etc. The disposal company encourages people to do their own composting of food scraps.
 

jaizei

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Burying won't hurt anything, other than attracting pests maybe.

You can make a composter with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) that can handle most food scraps. Can also feed the larvae to any turtles that eat insects/meat.

Short video that covers that basics
 

Maro2Bear

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Prince George’s County here in MD recently sent out a survey to all residents asking residents if they wanted a brandy new compostable green recyclying bin for “food scraps, egg shells, coffee grains & other food wastes”. One large bin that you bring to the curb during normal “yard waste” (grass, leaves, branches) pickup. Apparently 50% of the “garbage” currently being picked up & processed is food waste. They plan to combine all the food waste & yard waste & do a massive composting program.

Personally, we have been “red worm composting” for many years & have a shredder for processing all garden stuff.

Yvonne, I’m sure you could easily create a little composting bin for all the things you have (usually no bones, meat of fat/grease), but everything else. (Ps - no pineapples in worm bins either…..).
 

Yvonne G

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Burying won't hurt anything, other than attracting pests maybe.

You can make a composter with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) that can handle most food scraps. Can also feed the larvae to any turtles that eat insects/meat.

Short video that covers that basics
I've fed BSFL to my box turtles in the past. I don't have my speakers hooked up on the computer, so I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I get it that you put dirt in the bottom, then just add your food waste? If I 'build' this outside where I already have a small time worm compost going on, can I also add some BSFL to that and just start composting in earnest? Are BSFL harmful to the environment? or a nuisance? pest? Was the ramp outside the hole for the larva to climb up and fall down into the 5 gallon bucket? What makes them leave the compost?

And Mark, Fresno County has told us we're to put the food waste into the greenwaste bin. So when they compost greenwaste that contains food waste, doesn't that add to the greenhouse gasses they're trying to eliminate?

Gads! I'm SO uninformed!
 

jaizei

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I've fed BSFL to my box turtles in the past. I don't have my speakers hooked up on the computer, so I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I get it that you put dirt in the bottom, then just add your food waste? If I 'build' this outside where I already have a small time worm compost going on, can I also add some BSFL to that and just start composting in earnest? Are BSFL harmful to the environment? or a nuisance? pest? Was the ramp outside the hole for the larva to climb up and fall down into the 5 gallon bucket? What makes them leave the compost?

And Mark, Fresno County has told us we're to put the food waste into the greenwaste bin. So when they compost greenwaste that contains food waste, doesn't that add to the greenhouse gasses they're trying to eliminate?

Gads! I'm SO uninformed!

I think they actually reduce the presence of other pests. They climb the ramp when they're ready to pupate.
 

ZEROPILOT

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As of 2021 California is supposed to separate out food waste from their garbage and put it into the greenwaste bin. I'm curious - when the greenwaste truck goes to the land fill doesn't he back his truck up to the same spot where the garbage truck dumped his load? And so, isn't our food waste/greenwaste now still going into the same landfill as it used to go into?

My problem is I take my garbage over to my daughter's house and put it into her garbage cans. Because she lives on 5 acres and has lots of greenwaste, her bin is always full by the time I get there. So what am I to do with my food waste (egg shells, orange peels, coffee grounds, left over food, etc)?

Being an old person, and living alone, I really don't have too much food waste, but what little I do have, what am I now supposed to do with it? If I bury it (but where?) aren't I still contributing to the greenhouse gas problem they're trying to eliminate? I don't get it.

I really would like some constructive help with this, not a debate or an argument.
I know I saw a local news "investigation" that showed that our local county RECYCLING that has it's own recycling bins gets thrown out at the landfill along with all of the other trash.
 

dd33

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I know I saw a local news "investigation" that showed that our local county RECYCLING that has it's own recycling bins gets thrown out at the landfill along with all of the other trash.
It got a lot harder to export plastic recyclables recently. I went to the top of our county trash mountain about a year ago and was surprised by two things. The number of bald eagles eating trash with the vultures and the amount of baled plastic waste that was seemingly being used as garbage retaining walls. I called our rep with Waste Pro to ask why my business was paying for separate trash and recycling dumpsters if it all goes to the same place but she insisted that I did not see what I think I did.
 

Tom

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Burying won't hurt anything, other than attracting pests maybe.

You can make a composter with black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) that can handle most food scraps. Can also feed the larvae to any turtles that eat insects/meat.

Short video that covers that basics
Have you done this? Where do the "founder" BSFs come from? I've been interested for a while. What keeps the other fly species out of it?

What about the weather? Does is work in winter with nights at or near freezing? How bout summer when daily highs are over 100 most of the time? I've watched the videos, but hoping to find a person who's actually done it.
 

Yvonne G

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Have you done this? Where do the "founder" BSFs come from? I've been interested for a while. What keeps the other fly species out of it?

What about the weather? Does is work in winter with nights at or near freezing? How bout summer when daily highs are over 100 most of the time? I've watched the videos, but hoping to find a person who's actually done it.
When I fed them to my box turtles I bought them online - I got them from both Chewy.com and Josh's frogs. The box turtles went after them like crazy!
 

Snoopy’s mom

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How funny that this got posted: Just harvested my bin on Saturday. I have a worm bin - everything except dairy, papaya seeds, and meat goes into it. After about 6 months I harvest the bin and get about 10 gallons of vermicast that you can use for your plants. Itʻs like super-charged fertilizer. Once itʻs dried, we (at home and at our school) screen it, convert it to pounds, and sell it. Not bad for wasted food, ʻeh?

Our school collects all the waste from breakfast and lunch, put it into a compost pile, and also feed the worms. We get compost and vermicast then sell it to the community; the food doesnʻt go to waste and it doesnʻt stink up the dumpsters!


Box bin set up


01.08.22.jpg
I just harvested on Saturday
Iʻm sure you can find someone there who does worm farming.
 

Snoopy’s mom

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Prince George’s County here in MD recently sent out a survey to all residents asking residents if they wanted a brandy new compostable green recyclying bin for “food scraps, egg shells, coffee grains & other food wastes”. One large bin that you bring to the curb during normal “yard waste” (grass, leaves, branches) pickup. Apparently 50% of the “garbage” currently being picked up & processed is food waste. They plan to combine all the food waste & yard waste & do a massive composting program.

Personally, we have been “red worm composting” for many years & have a shredder for processing all garden stuff.

Yvonne, I’m sure you could easily create a little composting bin for all the things you have (usually no bones, meat of fat/grease), but everything else. (Ps - no pineapples in worm bins either…..).
OMG, sorry I just read your post. I was so excited about my own worm bin that I went crazy and over-shared as usual. I try not to put citrus in mine, but a liiiiiitle seems to be okay. It takes a long time for those stinkinʻ peels to get broken down.
 

jaizei

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Have you done this? Where do the "founder" BSFs come from? I've been interested for a while. What keeps the other fly species out of it?

What about the weather? Does is work in winter with nights at or near freezing? How bout summer when daily highs are over 100 most of the time? I've watched the videos, but hoping to find a person who's actually done it.

They're native in parts of the US; I just put the composter on my porch in late spring/early summer and they showed up. If you have a traditional compost bin or worm bin, they're probably already around (if they're in your area).

Keep the bin out of direct sunlight; I never had problems with 100+ days as long as the bin was in a shaded area. They can survive cold nights, but once the days stop warming up the bin will go inactive until spring.
 

NorCal tortoise guy

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All our food scraps go to ether the pigs or the chickens. Not practical for most people I’m sure but I very much like making my food scraps food for my table again
 

Lyn W

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Here in the UK our food waste supposedly goes for composting and to be used for fuel.
I am quite cynical about the recycling of all materials though especially since a while back a lot of UK plastic was found to be shipped and dumped overseas in 3rd World countries :mad:- Out of sight out of mind but helps our recycling targets:(
 

jaizei

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Here in the UK our food waste supposedly goes for composting and to be used for fuel.
I am quite cynical about the recycling of all materials though especially since a while back a lot of UK plastic was found to be shipped and dumped overseas in 3rd World countries :mad:- Out of sight out of mind but helps our recycling targets:(

Plastic is the special case, that kinda ruins the idea of recycling - it was never as recyclable as the plastic industry said. Recycling plastic has generally been more expensive than making new plastic. And if it is recycled, it can only be recycled a few times before it breaks down.

Glass, aluminum & other metals can be recycled forever.
 
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