My trashy little secret

 We have a serious trash problem in my house. The once-a-week, standard city pick up means that we either live with stinky trash, toss it in the city's cans, or put it out on the balcony. (And the balcony is where my gardening lives, so that's not much of an option.)

Let's just say that this arrangement is not working for me.


I'm kind of intrigued by this--a compost pick up service. For $15 a month, Bennett Compost will come out to you and pick up your organic waste like cardboard, paper, coffee grounds and filters, cotton and wool rags, dryer lint, flowers, tea bags, yard trimmings and fruits and vegetables. The things they won't pick up are charcoal/coal ash, dairy products, fats, meats, pet waste, and trimmings from yards treated with chemical pesticides.


I don't know about your house, but in my world we have very little of what can't be composted. In fact, I've tried doing it on my own several times. Unfortunately, it always ends when I fill a bin, and then I have no where to put it to let things break down. I've considered one of these automatic composters, but since it requires electricity (and space), I've never really given it much thought.

But the idea of a compost pick up... I'm intrigued.

I first heard of it from a friend in Fishtown who uses the service. She always raves about it, and loves that she sends less waste to sit in a landfill. She's a gardener, too, and I think that in a perfect world, she'd rather compost herself and use it at home. Unfortunately space is a commodity, and it's just not a reality right now.

So less trash, less guilt, and very little cost. The only thing that's left to consider is where to put the extra can--and in my itty bitty kitchen, it's a very real concern. I'll let you know if sign up and actually put my money where my keyboard is.