39 replies to this topic

[Barra]

www.victoria.ca/greenbin

I had a look at the website, because I am a condo owner and wondered if I would get a survey, since I have some opinions on this subject. No, the survey will only go to households who have their garbage picked up by the city.

There is no option for saying that you don't want kitchen compost picked up. I guess that has already been decided. I was looking for my city tax bill to find out if my taxes are reduced by the amt that home owners pay for garbage pick up. Can't find my bill, so I don't know. Some of the options will reduce the amount homeowners pay for pick up.

It appears to me that our strata council will have to pay extra to have compost stored and picked up. Given the # of units in the bldg, even storing it for a week is bound to be smelly and attract flies, but I guess that's what we have to do. But we have no input to these decisions (except through our strata council, but they won't have many options).

Oh, and if you phone the number provided on the website, you get a recording. It says they'll phone back....

[sebberry]

All my kitchen scraps are used to feed the one-horse beast under my sink.

Considering how the dumpster doesn't get particularly smelly, I don't think it would be too much of an issue having a compost bin that gets emptied once a week.

[Bob Fugger]

There is also no option to maintain backyard pickup/dropoff for the new program, either. Also, let me save you the trouble of digging up your tax bill: no one in the City of Victoria (SFD, strata or otherwise) pays for garbage pickup through their tax assessment. It is billed tri-annually as a utility (along with water & sewer).

As for compost bins for your strata, I have had a 240L compost bin at my duplex for nearly two years. There have never really been any smell issues with the lid down. Of course, you do have to hold your breath when opening the bin to dump it in; however, that is brief. It is rarely an issue in this kind of weather and the funk doesn't really emenate beyond the vicinity of the bin in the summer.

If you are looking for clean and convenient solution, please PM me, as this year I founded a compost collection startup. Our rates are reasonable and we provide you with a clean, freshly (hot) power washed bin every time.

[Bob Fugger]

All my kitchen scraps are used to feed the one-horse beast under my sink.

Considering how the dumpster doesn't get particularly smelly, I don't think it would be too much of an issue having a compost bin that gets emptied once a week.

Garburators are evil. http://www.davidsuzu...our-garburator/

[gumgum]

I pay to have a Community Compost bin. I use it for yard and kitchen waste and receive a 20l bag of compost when it is emptied every month. I don't know what I would do without this service. I go through far too much organic material in my yard to compost it all myself; and unlike self composting, CC is able to compost fairly thick branches.

[ZGsta]

I pay to have a Community Compost bin. I use it for yard and kitchen waste and receive a 20l bag of compost when it is emptied every month. I don't know what I would do without this service. I go through far too much organic material in my yard to compost it all myself; and unlike self composting, CC is able to compost fairly thick branches.

My parents have used this service for a while and it's been really great for them.

[Mike K.]

Same here, Community Compost works very well and the 20l bag of soil comes in handy in the spring.

[sebberry]

Garburators are evil. http://www.davidsuzu...our-garburator/

I suppose if you run a compost collection business they're evil

[Bob Fugger]

I pay to have a Community Compost bin. I use it for yard and kitchen waste and receive a 20l bag of compost when it is emptied every month. I don't know what I would do without this service. I go through far too much organic material in my yard to compost it all myself; and unlike self composting, CC is able to compost fairly thick branches.

Community Composting is a great little operation - I was particularly impressed with their bin tipping truck. They are somewhat limited in what they can take (i.e., no dairy, meats or breads) and bin maintenace is up to the owner; however, the compost/soil delivery is a really nice customer service.

[Bob Fugger]

I suppose if you run a compost collection business they're evil

HAHAHA, touche'!

No, I've always felt this way about garburators: they're horribly inefficient, if you consider that whatever you dump down the sink has to get screened out through any level of wastewater treatment. Just like in composting and recycling, source control is key to the health and efficiency of wastewater systems.

[Matt R.]

I think it's time to out yourself, Fugger!

Matt.

[ChrisJ]

Pedal to Petal uses bicycles to pick up food waste and bring it to backyard compost bins where it is turned by hand into compost that is distributed to backyard and community gardens that produce food.
Contrast this with all other methods that ship the waste somewhere over the Malahat to an energy intensive industrial process.
They also take meat, bread or whatever, spend 90% of what they take in on labour, and use salvaged materials for almost the entire operation, from buckets to pallet based compost bins...they take your 5 gallon bucket (which seals well and keeps odour in perfectly) and replace it with a clean bucket...so it's the most expensive option (and not on the City's list of options) at $10/month. But what is it worth to you to reduce carbon emissions, water and electricity use, and have the vast majority of that money go into local job wages?

[Bob Fugger]

^^Not all of the service providers ship their organic materials out of the CRD. We (Organico) don't ship over the Malahat: we use a compost facility that is just north of Elk Lake. As for it being a major industrial process, aside from a grinder, a screener and a loader to push the piles around, Mother Nature does most of the work, with the help of some forced air ventilation and monitoring equipment.

As for Pedal to Petal, that's another good, small-scale operation that does what they do with a small carbon footprint. Where we excel, though, are in the ICI (industrial, commercial & institutional) and multi-residential sectors (though we are happy to serve single family dwellings). Those sectors can't effectively be served by a bike based collection operation.

[ChrisJ]

I hadn't heard of Organico. Thanks for the clarification. Good to know that there is more processing that happens locally.

[Bob Fugger]

I hadn't heard of Organico. Thanks for the clarification. Good to know that there is more processing that happens locally.

Cheers!

[Powerforward]

In the survey results Option C got the most support (48%).

C) collection every two weeks of both organics and garbage with both pickup and tote return at the curb (estimated to cost $161 a year per household)

Read more: http://www.timescolo...l#ixzz1lui75tFw

[G-Man]

Do we get to pay 80.50 a year if we do all our own organics? Seems unfair if don't get that option.

[Bob Fugger]

Do we get to pay 80.50 a year if we do all our own organics? Seems unfair if don't get that option.

I asked Terry Snow (waste manager) if I could opt out of the utility completely: I have my own compost business and I have no qualm about hauling the extra bag of garbage I have to the local repository. He said no chance. Apparently the bylaw governing trash collection (not available on the City's website, FYI) mandates that we must purchase this service from the City if you have a home with four or less units.

[G-Man]

So basicly the city is penalizing those of us that have been doing our part for the environment for years and years by providing me with less service (garbage at the curb and trying to steal my compostibles) and charging me more for the privilege?!

[Bernard]

In my case I have not been putting organic waste into the trash for years.

Ideally the system should become a user pay system, you only pay for what you use, no garbage, no fee.