Compost Success

Go Portland. This visual from Portland Monthly is impressive.

Green Bins



Each Tuesday night when we O takes out the bins, I wonder where the curbsite compost goes.  This WW article explains it all and then some.  Portland continues to amaze me and make me proud. 

Some interesting exceprts:

"Although other leading recycling cities, such as San Francisco and Seattle, started recycling food waste before Portland took its program citywide last Oct. 31, Jerry Powell of Resource Recycling magazine says no other large city combined such a program to cutting garbage collection in half."

"Lisa Libby, Mayor Sam Adams’ planning and sustainability director, says the city is happy with the progress—garbage is down 44 percent, recycling is up 12 percent, and composting is up by almost three times."



Composting makes its way onto this blog from time to time...here are a few other compost posts.

Funny Confession #131

According to color theory, magenta is the opposite (complement) to green.  Going with that, I have started to label actions as "magenta" if they are the opposite of green.  Although I am proud to be a huppie (which indicates I try to be green), every now and then I am magenta. For example, it is ridiculous how far out of the way I will go to hit a starbucks drivethru. 

Often I play a game along the way - counting how many regular starbucks I pass on the way to the drivethru starbucks. 

My kids rock disposable diapers.  If something is really stinky I put it in the disposal instead of the counter top compost bin.  I am at peace with all of these actions.  Being a lover of made up words, I sorta love having a label for them.  Magenta. 

What do you do that is magenta? 

It's Good To Be a Huppie

I really thought I invented the word huppie one day on a run.  I was a little bummed to figure out that someone else had already invented it.  But now I'm over that...and I really love using it.

 Portland is full of huppies and we love it. 

Check out this definition from the urban dictionary.   PDXers, are you laughing?  The rest of you - are you  laughing at us? 

Here are a few huppie-isms I've learned about over the past 6 years in PDX:
Hippies drive an original VW Van. Yuppies, a pimped SUV.  Huppies?  A VW minivan, duh. 

Hippies give birth in the woods.  Yuppies schedule a cesarean and get the suite at the hospital.  Huppies?  Most deliver in the hospital with midwives and doulas.  Huppies secure bragging rights by getting it done without drugs.  Most huppie babies are born in a tub. 

Hippie kids play with rocks.  Yuppies have American Girl Dolls.  Huppies?  Hello Plan Toys Green Dollhouse. 

Hippies go backpacking. Yuppies are at the Ritz.  Huppies, camp with rules (for example, my rules: never 2 nights in a row, meals at restaurants, bathroom facilities near by, wifi is a nice touch, and always on a mattress). 

Hippies vacation in the woods (see camping above).  Yuppies go to Paris or Barcelona or some cool Asian city.  Huppies?  Hello ecotourism was invented B.H.F.H.  (by Huppies for Huppies).

Hippies play frisbee, juggle and hula hoop in a park.  Yuppies golf at the club. .  Huppies?  We have sporty weekends in the mountains.  Summer and Winter. 

Diapers?  Doctors?  Schools?  Restaurants?  This game never gets old.  Play with me. 

Sidenote, pretty soon this huppie will procure a good looking compost bin for my kitchen counter because, while I support the approach, the city issued bin isn't going to fly with my decor...

Compost Bins

Someone needs to start a tumblr site to capture alternative ways to use the recently issued city compost bins. I spotted this at the cyclocross race this morning. Good thinking.

Curbside Compost

I spent all day Thursday learning about sustainability here in Portland. There were so many interesting things (tour of the airport, a panel of experts including the owners of HotLips and the Rebuilding Center, local government people); great topics for future posts.

One of the most interesting things I learned was that very soon the curbside recycling program in Portland is going to kick up a notch. This is called the "Portland Recycles! Plan" From my perspective, the recycling options in Portland are already pretty amazing....but they are about to take things to a new level. I think the changes will start this summer, just in time for green BabyF.

The goal is to minimize actual trash by increasing the recycle options for various household things. We already recycle paper, plastic and glass - this will continue (although they are increasing the types of plastic they will take and there will be a few other positive changes). We already dispose of yard debris separate from trash, this will continue but I think it may increase to weekly instead of every other week. And also, they are going to add a service to pick up compost-able waste (food, etc.) every week. With these changes, they will only haul garbage every other week - which should be just fine since none of us should have much actual garbage anymore after we recycle and compost everything.

The changes will be rolled out by neighborhood along with education and new bins (no more yellow bins). They expect these changes will increase curbside recycling by 33%!

There are 4 main goals for the changes:

1. Zero growth in the waste stream.

2. Increase recycling rate to 75 percent by 2015.

3. Make the whole system more sustainable: safer for garbage haulers and neighborhoods.

4. Reduce toxics and greenhouse gases.

The office of sustainable development website does a much better (probably more accurate) job articulating all of these coming changes than I am doing so check it out!

What an amazing city. Go Portland. This is why I am here!