Almost everybody recycles at least some of their trash. This keeps it out of landfills and allows reuse of materials such as plastic and paper. Most recycling has hit a peak, however, with about 20 percent of all household waste being recycled. As East Valley residents prepare to mark Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, they are seeing one area of recycling that is just starting to grow 鈥� green waste.
East Valley cities are using green waste, such as landscape trimmings, to create compost, finishing the organics circle. Mesa started offering green barrels for yard waste in a test program in 1997. The voluntary program was started in the Dobson Ranch neighborhood and has now rolled out to the rest of the city, according to Mariano Reyes, marketing and communication specialist for Mesa.
The green barrel program averages about 17,000-18,000 tons a year, depending on how much rain has fallen. According to Mesa鈥檚 website, green barrel users recycled 19,672 tons of yard waste in 2015. 鈥淐omposting is on the horizon. That鈥檚 the next big thing,鈥� Reyes said. 鈥淔ood waste is our biggest item into landfills.鈥�
For now, food is not accepted into Mesa鈥檚 green barrels. Neither are palm fronds, oleander trimmings, citrus and cactuses.
Materials that are accepted include grass, leaves, plant trimmings, small tree branches and prunings.
鈥淥ur green waste program is something we鈥檇 always like to expand on,鈥� said Traci Conaway, recycling coordinator for Chandler. 鈥淥ver 30 percent of what we collect is green waste, yard waste.鈥�
For now, Chandler doesn鈥檛 offer curbside pickup of green waste. Instead, green waste can be dropped off at the city鈥檚 Recycling Collection Center at 955 E. Queen Creek Road. Chandler collected 1,500 tons of green waste last year, Conaway said.
The city has been working with its waste provider, Waste Management, to figure out how to process organics. For now, it is delivered to a west Phoenix processing center, where it is mulched and reused. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to get something closer to the East Valley,鈥� she said.
Chandler does offer backyard composters to residents. They鈥檙e made, appropriately enough, from recycled trash containers. Tempe processes its own compost through its Green Organics program.
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