Achieving a More Environmentally Active and Sustainable San Carlos
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MONEY MATTERS
Debunking "The High Cost of
Compost" Myth
San Carlos Green made the front page of the August 13
Examiner—I guess that’s a good thing. It’s just too bad
that the Examiner hadn’t done its homework.
It’s true that for Allied to pick up our yard bin every week, it will
cost more—two extra trucks with drivers will be needed.
But what’s the bottom line to the residents if we put our food waste in
the green bin instead of our usual garbage bin?
Our garbage bill will go DOWN—not UP!
Here’s how:
Food waste makes up 35% of our garbage.
If you place that food in the yard bin, you will reduce the volume of
your garbage by 35%.
Allied Waste charges you based on the size of the garbage bin you
use.
Check your garbage bill to see the size of bin for which you are being
charged.
If you reduce your garbage by 35%, what size bin would you need?
Here are the Allied rates:
Gallon Bin
Rate/Month
10 gallons
$4.99
15 gallons
$7.49
20 gallons
$9.98
25 gallons
$12.48
32 gallons
$15.97
40 gallons
$20.80
45 gallons
$23.40
64 gallons
$34.00
95 gallons
$54.46
The rate increase will be $2.66/month.
I plan to go from 32 gallons down to 25 gallons, so I’ll save
$0.83/month!
That’s just the dollars and cents reason this works. But there's more.
We’ll get that compost back for our gardens.
We’ll also extend the life of our landfill, while saving the environment
from methane gas emissions—which are 21 times more harmful to the atmosphere
than carbon dioxide. Food waste composting saves green no matter how you look
at it.
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