Seattle's new garbage law. I don't get it, seriously. (real estate, 2015)

[azoria]

So I'm supposed to throw used paper towels and napkins in a food scrap compost bin? Mostly I use them for blowing my nose because the quality of kleenex is so poor. Eww, and they want to recycle that? They're going to fine us if I blow my nose and just throw it away?


I live in a small 4 unit building that has just small residential wheelie recycle bins. There has always been at least one apartment in our building who just doesn't grasp the complicated Seattle trash program. They throw bags of sloppy garbage in the recycle bins, anything anywhere it will fit, they don't care. They're already putting meat food scraps in the yard bin and last summer it was a stinky rotting maggot mess.

This is just gross.

And we haven't been given one of those tiny little kitchen scrap compost containers. Just one for the whole building?

Already they want us to wash the recycling which is crazy. I should wash the garbage forchrissake? While the next door neighbors just dump stuff everywhere?

Oy.

[Ruth4Truth]

Is Seattle now requiring composting?

[Flightoficarus87]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Is Seattle now requiring composting?

Yup.

The law goes into effect today, but it won't really be enforced until July.

I still wonder how they'll go about that with apartment buildings/condos.

[Hemlock140]

I'm in commercial real estate, with about 300 tenants, most of them sharing dumpsters. We're just budgeting for the fines every month, because like apartments, the landlord has no control over the tenants. The rent, CAM or garbage charges for the tenants in 2016 will be increased to cover the fines based on what we end up paying in 2015. It's really just a cash cow for Seattle Public Utilities.

[sean98125]

You can sort the garbage yourself, or you can pay the $1 fine to have them sort it for you.

Or if you aren't sure if it is compostable or recyclable, just throw it in the bin you think it goes into. There doesn't seem to be a fine for having non-recyclables in the recycle bin or non-compostables in the compost bin.

[aplcr0331]

How are they enforcing the law? SPU gonna have dumpster divers counting your garbage? Neighbors reporting the Jews in the apartment two doors over to the SS...I mean... telling a government agency that you put your soy kale non fat no whip latte cup in the wrong bin?

[GatsbyGatz]

Originally Posted by aplcr0331

How are they enforcing the law? SPU gonna have dumpster divers counting your garbage? Neighbors reporting the Jews in the apartment two doors over to the SS...I mean... telling a government agency that you put your soy kale non fat no whip latte cup in the wrong bin?

I believe they will be hiring inspectors to inspect your garbage, yes. I'm glad our taxes are now funding dumpster diving.

[RVD90277]

i would guess that it's usually the trash collectors that report violators. of course in a big complex where there is a shared dumpster, the fines will be paid and then collected from tenants in the form of a general rent increase type of thing next year.

it can be confusing and i doubt that trash collectors even keep up since these days there are many cups, utensils, containers, etc. that are all compostable but look sort of like plastic.

in general, if the cup, straw, utensil, or container doesn't really work very well, chances are it's compost...

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by GatsbyGatz

I believe they will be hiring inspectors to inspect your garbage, yes. I'm glad our taxes are now funding dumpster diving.

1) The inspectors already exist. They are already on the lookout for recyclable objects (and have been since the 90s), so this is just more work for them.

2) The actual fine is $1 ...

3) ... which will not be assessed against a person until after "at least" 3 citations. By the city's own admission, they will not be "aggressively" enforcing the law right away. They may not end up enforcing the law at all in 2015 given all of the educational efforts that will need to be underway. This is a town with a lot of newcomers, so they are putting a lot of effort towards education and less towards enforcement.

4) For those who think this is a revenue generator, note that inspectors working for the contractor companies (WM and Cleanscapes) make over $20/hr. The inspectors working for the city make over $24/hr starting out. That's not including gas and other expenses that the inspectors charge off. Trust and believe when I tell you that, mathematically speaking, the expense of having an inspector look at your garbage can pretty much never be recovered by the fines being generated, even if every person was cited.

For more education on this topic, see here:

Q&A pokes deeper into Seattle’s new composting rules, fines | Local News | The Seattle Times

[Gardyloo]

And the threshold for a fine will be 10% by volume, so the odd banana peel or chicken bone isn't likely to tip the balance. And a fine of a buck a month for residential scofflaws? Oh please.

I'm waiting for Tim Eyman to weigh in on this malarkey.