The city of Eugene, Oregon will begin to test curbside organic waste collection in four neighborhoods starting in the fall, a report from the Register Guard says. The service will be provided for free in the beginning of September near Williamette Street and 29th Avenue.
Residents with yard debris service who live in the test area can participate, according to the report. The city will provide residents with two-gallon plastic kitchen pails to store food scraps including fruits, vegetables, meat and bones, dairy products, seafood, eggs and breads. The pails can then be emptied into the yard debris bins for collection by haulers every other week, the report says.
The city hopes to implement the services, which are part of a program called "Love Food Not Waste," by next summer, the report says.
Sanipac, Lane Apex, both headquartered Eugene, and other participating haulers will "absorb" the extra cost of sending trucks out for the yard debris and food waste during the two-year trial, the report says. The city will spend about $200,000 on the program.
The yard clippings and food scraps will be processed into compost by Rexius, Eugene, that will be sold at local home and garden stores, according to the report.
Eugene residents produce around 20 million pounds of food waste per year, the report says, which is deposited into the Short Mountain Landfill. Another 20 million pounds is produced by restaurants, grocery stores, institutions and other commercial customers.
Food scraps will need to be free of noncompostable materials, such as plastics, metals and other non-food or -plant materials, the report says. No paper or compostable plastics will be collected during the pilot program.
