Mayor Sam Adams demonstrates food that will soon be part of the citywide composting program.
credit:
April Baer
Portland Mayor Sam Adams says the city could expand a food scrap recycling program citywide as early as Halloween.
The city’s program will allow people to compost things like bones, grease, mussel shells and prepared food scraps — all things that can’t be tossed in backyard compost bins.
Adams says the city needs to further reduce the 12,000 pounds of trash the average household produces each year.
The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability has been working with about 2,000 families in a pilot project. The Bureau’s Lauren Norris says the pilot was successful.
“About 85 percent of the households are satisfied with the system,” Norris says. “Not everybody is composting everything that they can, so we’re definitely trying to get the word out.”
Once the program goes citywide, Adams says the city will shift to collecting garbage every other week. However, haulers will pick up compost and recycle bins every week.
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