1998 Trash Cutter Award Program Case Studies

Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority (CCCSWA): Best Waste Prevention Strategies

• Program Description
• Program Summary
• Costs
• Benefits
• Contact

Program Description

The Home Composting for Busy People program provides basic instruction on small-scale home composting for residents within the Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority (CCCSWA)  and the City of San Ramon. The CCCSWA encompasses the cities and towns of Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Danville, and the unincorporated portions of the county. The program has several components to make it simple for residents to compost food, yard waste and other organic materials at home. They include home composting workshops at local nurseries and gardens; an in-home instructional videotape on composting; a telephone information line that provides technical assistance and arranges services; and garbage rate discounts for residents that have become certified composters through the program.

Program Summary

The program has several components including:

• Home composting workshops at local nurseries and gardens.
• An instructional videotape entitled "Turning your Spoils to Soil" for in-home instruction.
• A telephone information line that provides technical assistance and arranges services.
• A home composting volunteer network.
• A subsidized compost bin distribution program featuring the popular Smith & Hawken Biostack bin.
• Garbage rate discounts for residents who are CCCSWA-certified composters.

Home composting workshops are held regularly at nurseries, home improvement stores, and community garden centers within or near all the CCCSWA's member jurisdictions and the City of San Ramon. Workshop instruction begins with a description of basic composting theory and goes on to describe a variety of techniques. The program's special emphasis is on presenting simplified techniques for use by the "busy" resident.

Another program component making instruction more convenient is a free seventeen minute videotape entitled "Turning your Spoils to Soil." This provides a unique opportunity for in-home instruction for residents who do not have time to attend a workshop. Residents may keep the video as long as desired for viewing and sharing with neighbors. When finished, residents are encouraged to return the videotape to the CCCSWA for reuse.

The program also maintains a telephone information line for easy access to all services offered. By using the info-line, residents make reservations to attend workshops, request the instructional videotape, order the Biostack bin, and obtain additional information or technical assistance. To date, there have been more than 3,700 callers.

The home composting volunteer network was established to recruit residents to assist in promoting this program. Network members encourage their friends and neighbors to attend workshops or host special presentations. Network members can also request to be placed in the network directory. It lists members by community and is only distributed to other members. The directory allows local composters to "network" for a variety of purposes, including sharing materials and tools, expertise, or possibly renting a yard waste chipper-shredder together to reduce cost.

In late 1996, another major incentive was added for residents to begin composting.  The CCCSWA began the home compost bin distribution program. This program sells the popular Smith & Hawken Biostack compost bin to residents for $45 (including shipping and tax), almost half the regular retail price. The program buys the bins in bulk for $59.50 each and the CCCSWA and San Ramon subsidizes each bin for $23.  To date, 1,295 compost bins have been sold.

In mid 1997, the program initiated the Backyard Composting and Yard Waste Reduction Certification program to recognize and reward new and continuing composters.  The certification recognizes residents as "an official composter." Qualified residents receive $1 per month rebate on their refuse bill for a one year period. The certification helps the CCCSWA track how many residents are composting and the amounts of materials being diverted. This certification and subsequent rate discount have motivated many residents to begin participating in the Program.  Four hundred and fifty residents have been certified to date.  Many applicants have remarked that they are established composters who appreciate the chance to be recognized for their waste reduction efforts.

Costs

The total annual cost for the Home Composting for Busy People Program 1997 was $54,591.00. Program costs include consultant services, workshop instruction, instructional aids such as handouts, booklets, and videotapes, administrative costs and start up of the bin distribution program.  

Benefits

The Home Composting for Busy People Program makes instruction convenient and accessible. The bin distribution and home composter certification program are the newest added incentives to start or maintain composting. This unique partnership between the CCCSWA member jurisdictions and San Ramon provide an extremely effective and popular waste prevention program to aid the jurisdictions in reaching the State-mandated diversion goals.

Since the beginning of the program, 1,530 residents have indicated that they were already composting or were motivated to begin. Applying the estimate of 1,152 pounds of diverted yard waste per household to this number of potentially active composters indicates that as much as 884 tons of yard waste has been diverted since 1993. Although this is only an estimate, it does serve as an interesting indication of the impact home composting can have on reducing waste. Of course, it stands to reason that many more than the 1,530 composters represented here are active and the real diversion is probably much greater.

For Further Information Contact:

Central Contra Costa Solid Waste Authority
1280 Civic Drive #314
Walnut Creek, CA  94596
(925) 906-1801
www.wastediversion.org