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St. Augustine may start collecting food scraps for composting

By Jenna Bourne and Action News Jax
By Jenna Bourne and Action News Jax

The city of St. Augustine may soon start asking people to separate their food scraps from the rest of their trash for composting.

The city is considering adding organic materials collection to its regular solid waste pickup.

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According to the Environmental Protection Agency, about 30 percent of what Americans throw away are food scraps and yard waste.

Turning that garbage into compost keeps it from taking up space in landfills and prevents it from emitting methane gas.

PHOTOS: St. Augustine may start collecting food scraps for composting

“[It’s] a huge pollutant and a real issue with watershed runoff in our area, as well,” said Dog Day Gardens owner Shelby Dixon.

Dixon collects more than 2,000 gallons of food scraps every week.

“We bring in food scraps from a couple dozen local restaurants and businesses, different homes. We dump them, we immediately cover them with tree mulch that we get from local tree trimmers, and we flip the piles in each direction over and over again,” said Dixon.

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When the food scraps and yard waste break down, they transform into nutrient-rich soil.

St. Augustine Public Works Deputy Director Todd Grant said the addition to solid waste collection would not raise customers’ bills.

Grant said composting would save money by reducing the weight of trash going to the landfill.

He said the city would have to purchase another trash can for each customer, but that cost would not be passed on to homeowners.

Dixon said people can compost some items that are not recyclable, like “greasy pizza boxes, used to-go containers that aren’t plastic-lined ... napkins that are soiled, paper towels.”

Grant said the city would drop off food scraps collected from St. Augustine homes and businesses at Indianhead Biomass, the facility that already collects the city’s yard waste.

The city is asking for input and you can weigh in by filling out its questionnaire.

Cox Media Group

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