Two Eau Claire City Council members are proposing new rules for trash haulers to make composting more available to city residents. The proposed ordinance by councilmembers Andrew Werthmann and Joshua Miller would require each licensed trash hauler provide curbside organic waste pickup for composting as part of their standard residential trash collection services. The ordinance would require the haulers to average the cost of that service across all customers in the city, and not charge any separate fee for compost pickup.
Werthmann says they hope more people would use composting services if it is already included in their trash service bill. He says the goal is to reduce the amount of waste in landfills to make expensive landfill expansion projects less frequent, and reduce pollution from methane gas.
“About 25% of all trash is actually organics, organic materials, that could be diverted and composted,” Werthmann said. “Many people do this in their backyard, but we wanted to make sure folks who don’t have the ability to do it in their backyard, that the waste haulers, whatever company you have, would offer the service of composting.”