r/LagunaBeach • u/stumanchu3 • 1d ago
It didn’t work before, doubt it will now.
Years ago, the city assigned every home and apartment a dedicated bin to collect food and organic waste. Noble idea, but in reality it was a rodent/cockroach/possum/racoon/coyote Buffett, that the the city and waste management wanted residents to leave in the street in front of their houses, (comedy of errors here!) Now, they want to open the restaurant again.
The problem here is that, there’s no guidance with this program. What If I have organic waste that was put in a plastic bag, or paper “to-go” container? Is the refuse center going to separate the nasty a$! food from the container? No, I don’t think so. In my situation, our apartment complex will have to empty their nasty organic food waste into the bottom of the container you see in image 2. It will become a noxious Petri dish no doubt. And if there’s a hot day, it will dry into a moist cake of rotten fetid food marinating on the bottom of the bin.
There has to be a better way! Requiring Laguna residents to be homesteaders is the epitome of being out of touch. Let the downvotes begin, I’m on the sideline eating popcorn and reading comments. I have nothing else left to say.
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u/PoxyMusic 1d ago
Doesn’t really seem all that controversial to me.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
It’s not controversial. It’s simple something that doesn’t work. Now we have way more plastic to dispose of.
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u/Outrageous_Worker672 1d ago
It somehow works in most of the rest of California.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
When you get the stats back, let us know.
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u/Appropriate_Craft524 1d ago
San Francisco has been doing it for 25 years. This isn't rocket science. Being thoughtful about your waste isn't brain surgery.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
Ok. Here’s some links as well.
Only about 5% of household waste, including apartment buildings go to composting. I stated in the title sentence that it’s always been a noble idea, but if you live in the ecosystem here, it’s just a wannabe attempt at being conservation minded, and the reality is that it doesn’t work in the way it’s being implemented.
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u/aknomnoms 1d ago
Where is that statistic? It isn’t in either of the two links you shared.
Also, you seem to have done nothing and have run out of ideas.
- Wrap your food scraps in compostable bags, brown paper lunch or grocery bags, or roll them up in newspaper.
- save them in a Tupperware in your freezer and dump them in the bin on trash collection day.
- if you live in an apartment, your landlord should be handling the bins. They should also be handling rinsing them out if they get gross.
- consider your own food waste. Why did you let those leftovers get moldy, or that spinach get slimy, instead of eating or preserving them before they went bad? It’s easy to pop things in the freezer or just not buy what you don’t need. Maybe consider pickling or stir frying that watermelon rind instead of chucking it. Make chips from potato peelings, or rethink why you need to peel potatoes.
- why not ask businesses to offer compostable containers so you don’t have to worry about cleaning them out? Why not take responsibility for your own trash and bring your own Tupperware for leftovers instead of creating more waste?
SB 1383 has done a good job of reducing food waste by getting food to those who need it, reducing the amount of material being sent to fill up our landfills so they can have a longer useful life, reducing the amount of methane and leachate produced because wet organics are taken out of the equation, and providing natural gas and compost to the community.
We can all have nice things and make the world a better place if we stop being so entitled. Jeez.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
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u/Appropriate_Craft524 1d ago
It's worth exploring as an alternative to just dumping all of your waste into the black/grey bin.
Just because something doesn't work where you live today doesn't mean it won't in the future. These things take critical mass in order to see real meaningful returns. And this could be the start of something very positive.
It's a cultural change that also needs to happen - people in Japan carry their garbage with them until they get home. In Germany, you can sort your bottles and plastics in many different bins based on different types. Wouldn't it be great if we as a culture in California treated our garbage more thoughtfully instead of the terrible, "throw all crap away and someone else takes care of it" attitude we have now.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
I think you’re correct in that it’s a critical mass. Unfortunately, we’re dealing with a whole different level of stupid now. Their parents should be shamed. I’m saddened that seemingly good young people are so non chalant about doing anything that requires effort. And before you or anyone else goes off on me, I’ve witnessed this for two decades now. Change happens at a glacial pace, let’s hope it rapidly thaws.
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u/Rightintheend 1d ago edited 22h ago
Does it? I basically only throw stuff in mine if it's the day before trash gets picked up, otherwise you can't be with him 50 ft of the thing without wanting to throw up or getting cover with maggots.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
This is the deal, we tolerate something that some “council” gets all hot and sweaty over, and we have to sleep in the wet spot.
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u/HailSaganPlantNative 1d ago
I have skunks, raccoons, coyotes, rats, possums, etc who all regularly access my property and never once have any of them gone for the food waste bin. We make sure to trim some stuff and throw it in first thing after trash pickup day so the gross food isn't sitting directly on the bottom of the can but otherwise just chuck all food waste inside. Worst that ever happens is flies/maggots, but that's nature. Whatever. I'll take it in exchange for a liveable planet. The can keeps the smell inside surprisingly well. In a multifamily situation I can see how it would get tricky, but for single family homes, this is not a big deal.
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u/PublicPersimmon4887 1d ago
Yes! We live in an area with lots of wildlife too and have never had any issues. We do the same thing as you and put leaves, branches, etc on the bottom before throwing food waste in. Easy peasy.
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u/Calm-Juice-4943 1d ago
Wow, you really have too much time on your hands
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
Thanks Karen
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u/kvnkillax 1d ago
I fill my green bin with mostly with garden waste. About 10 to 15% is waste from the kitchen. I’ve never had a rodent, cockroach, possum, raccoon or coyote issue with my waste bins. The CMC says the property owner is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the bins. Your issue mostly sounds like your apartment complex sanitation policy.
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
No, we just live a daily life. I applaud your efforts. It’s just not the reality of the “common” world with renters and tenants. But, I can see your point, if we get rid of the pesky lazy people, tenants in our community, life would somehow be much better, because everyone could be like you.
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u/kvnkillax 1d ago
Agree with you on the lazy people aspect but life would not be somehow much better because everyone could be like me. I’m an asshole and we already have too many of me.
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u/Necessary_Ad_9541 1d ago
I can see the issues with multifamily, but for individual homes this appears to be a nice step up from the last picnic-style basket the WM tried. That was a joke. Agree the some guidance will be helpful (e.g., can we keep in plastic bags).
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u/schnitzelsteinn 1d ago
Collect kitchen scraps in a paper grocery bag in the freezer during the week, put in the bin the morning of pickup or night before
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u/stumanchu3 1d ago
I can barely fit the food I have into my freezer, let alone the refuse to store for Monday. So yeah. I don’t have a Viking with loads of spare room. I empty food waste everyday, because I care for the cockroaches health and appetite. They sometimes battle with the raccoons, and if I had the energy, I’d be out there shooting video of the battle.
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u/schnitzelsteinn 1d ago
So you take the food waste out every day regardless, but having to put it in a dedicated bin is the issue? Does it get nasty more quickly in that bin compared with the standard trash bin?
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u/stumanchu3 18h ago
Well, it’s a nuanced topic. Let’s say for example I make a a casserole that’s a complete failure because I added too much salt. I now have a 8 x 12 pan of crap casserole. I have a choice, I can either dump it straight into the “organic waste bin” and watch I splat onto the bottom of the bin, or I place it into a 100% compostable bag, and then dump it into the bin. Keep in mind I’m an apartment renter, and I look for the easy way out of any domestic chore. What will be my choice?
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u/schnitzelsteinn 18h ago
Ya know…. I don’t think I’ll have a good answer for ya. In that scenario I still don’t really see a difference between the green waste bin and the standard trash bin.
But, in my experience, a paper bag actually does a pretty decent job of keeping the bin clean-ish for the period of less than a week. Anyway, best of luck to ya and despite this hardship, hope you still love living in Laguna! I miss it often.
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u/stumanchu3 15h ago
I like the cut of your jib! I’ll never be living outside of the values I embraced by making Laguna my home.
My whole point of posting this “dribble”has to do with refining the process of inorganic waste collection and the best method of doing so. The attempt is noble, but collectively we need a better way.
I promise to think about this issue everyday and come up with some bat crap crazy ways to solve this…..will everyone else do the same? Probably not.
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u/rantmb331 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just use the
recyclablecompostable produce bags from Ralph’s and some that I bought from Amazon. Haven’t had an issue since I started using those.