You can now put all of your food scraps and soiled paper directly into your green cart. By doing this, you’ll not only keep these materials from being buried in the landfill, you’ll also reduce the community’s greenhouse gas emissions, and create both renewable energy and compost to enrich our soil.
Lots of Stuff Can Now Go Into Your Green Cart Much of what we once threw in the garbage can now go in your green cart.
In addition to yard trimmings, you can add these compostable items:
fruits and vegetables
coffee grounds, filters, and tea bags
meat and bones
dairy and eggs
soiled paper (paper plates & cups, used tissues, paper towels, paper napkins)
waxy paper containers (milk and ice cream cartons – even ones with a some plastic piecesare ok)
Chinese and other paper takeout boxes
pizza boxes
compostable plastics (compostable bags, compostable to-go containers, compostable cutlery) – they must be labeled ‘Compostable’
Kitchen Bucket GreenWaste staff dropped off a 3-gallon kitchen bucket at nearly every single-family household in Palo Alto this past week. The kitchen bucket is offered as a convenient way to hold your food scraps and soiled paper for a couple of days in the kitchen before emptying it into your green cart.
Inside your kitchen bucket is a brochure about the new food scraps collection program, a flyer on reducing food waste, and instructions on how to care for your kitchen bucket. If you plan to use your own kitchen container for food scraps storage and do not need the kitchen bucket, that is ok. Please contact GreenWaste at (650) 493-4894 or pacustomerservice@greenwaste.com to have your kitchen bucket picked up or if you have not yet received a kitchen bucket.
If I have just a few pounds of food scraps in my green cart, should I still bring it out to the curb for pick up? You can take your green cart to the curb for service every week - even if you just have a small amount of material in your cart.
How should I place food scraps in my green cart? You can place your food scraps loose directly into your green cart; mix/layer them in with your yard trimmings; contain them in a compostable plastic bag, paper bag, waxy paper, or a compostable (paper or plastic) takeout container; or wrap them in newspaper. For tips on keeping your green cart clean, visit the food scraps FAQ at www.cityofpaloalto.org/foodscraps#FAQ
Learn More About the New Program More information about the program is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/foodscraps or by calling (650) 496-5910.
