I want to compost, but it seems complicated and I’m afraid my cart will smell. What should I do?
Recology San Mateo County strongly encourages you to give composting a try. We’ll even give you a kitchen pail and signage to help you get in the swing of it! San Mateo County residents have told us that composting becomes easy after the first week. From experience, they recommend bagging or wrapping food scraps in newspaper to slow down the decomposition and reduce odor.
Composting is a simple habit with many environmental benefits. If you throw compost scraps in the garbage,
the waste is sent to the landfill, where it decomposes and releases methane gas into the atmosphere, which is
23 times more potent than carbon dioxide and is directly attributed to climate change.
If you place kitchen and garden scraps in the green cart instead, the materials will be composted, which will actually help capture carbon in the soil and reverse some of the effects of climate change. Composting is nature’s way of recycling organic waste into a new soil amendment rich in nutrients that can be used for organic farming, vineyards, and highway erosion and control projects.
Residents are also enthusiastic about composting because they can usually decrease their garbage cart size
and thus, their bill. And, they love picking up the finished compost for their gardens at Recology San Mateo’s
yearly Compost Giveaway events. Going green can add some more green to your wallet and garden!