San Diego green bins: Compost, concerns and confusion

Confusion about green bins growing among San Diegans

It’s been more than six months now since the City of San Diego began dropping off those green trash bins meant for composting at homes within city limits.

It's part of the city's goal to extend the life of our landfill. While the intention is good, some residents say it's causing more problems than solving.

Leslie Vilches is very familiar with her green bin by now, but it’s definitely not her favorite thing to do, so her husband handles that responsibility around the household.

“He has been composting — my husband — ever since we got this. He likes the idea because he’s saving it for the plants. I haven’t even opened that. I don’t know how it looks,” as she gestures towards a tin can with a lid in her backyard.

Vilches, like other San Diegans, have taken reluctantly to that third bin, the new green one, for a number of reasons.

“I didn’t want my husband to collect, to be honest, because of flies and I was telling him you know — the rodents — you never know,” said Vilches.

The City of San Diego started in January, and is still rolling out those green bins throughout the city. They're not expecting everyone to get the hang of it right away.

City of San Diego giving residents a grace period... for now

For now, a spokesperson told NBC 7, the city is not enforcing the rules if you contaminate the green bins or just don’t use them all. Currently, the city is in an education phase and it’s unclear how long that will last.

Kelly Terry with the City of San Diego provided the following statement to NBC 7:

“We are mindful of the fact that organic waste recycling is a big shift in behavior and that it will take time for San Diegans to form new habits. At this time, we are focused on any opportunity we have to educate residents about proper waste disposal. Our website (OrganicWasteRecycleSD.org) includes helpful resources, and we also offer free educational workshops (including one Saturday, July 29 at the Mira Mesa Library), which includes information about the importance of recycling organic waste, green bin cleaning and storage tips, and a Q&A with City staff.

Tips for how to use the green bins

For those struggling with the “ick” factor, we suggest starting small, focusing on things like fruit and vegetable trimmings and coffee grounds; keep those items in the small kitchen caddy in your home until collection day. Placing the green bin in the shade, with the lid closed, and layering food scraps in with yard waste will help keep bugs away.

Organic waste recycling is the single most impactful thing people can do at home to fight climate change. Overall residents are doing a good job so far, and we are seeing a contamination rate of less than 1%.

So fruit and vegetable peels, plate scrapings and food-soiled paper, to name a few — all go in the green bin. The city suggests wrapping leftovers in newspaper, paper bags, paper towels, napkins and parchment paper before throwing away. Also, remove all packaging like foil, plastic, twist ties, for example. And if you get confused about what to throw where, check the instructions on the top of the bin because ultimately green bin trash goes to the Miramar greenery for composting and to enclosed digestion facilities that breakdown waste, creating renewable natural gas.

At the end of the day, this compost policy fits in line with San Diego’s Zero Waste goals and the state mandate Bill 1383 that aims to reduce climate pollutants like methane by minimizing the amount of organic waste being put into landfills.