This Week in the Mercury

Not in My Parking Lot

News

Not in My Parking Lot

Car Camping Plan Upsets Neighbors


Hall Monitor

News

Hall Monitor

An Ever-Shifting Dance Floor



  |  

Monday, October 24, 2011

Green The City Left Me a Trick or Treat Bucket

Posted by Sarah Mirk on Mon, Oct 24, 2011 at 11:29 AM

This handy trick or treat bucket showed up on my doorstep last week. Sustainable candy sacks! How thoughtful.

compost_bucket.jpg

J/K, J/K. You guys remember what this is about, right? We begin Portland-wide compost pick up for houses (though not larger apartment complexes—y'all are left out for now) on October 31st. You can check your new trash pick up schedule here. The rules for what you can compost are so hilariously simple that we made a website about it.

Anyway. I'm excited about this! It's a smart switch and I think the city shelling out a bit to deliver a bucket to our doors will boost participation. Up until this point I've been keeping my compost in the freezer, clearing it out every month, which scared guests. I've already heard of a couple people creatively altering their buckets, turning the lid into the mouth of a certain disliked political figure. Anyone have any good ideas for how to bedazzle the shit out of this thing? In the meantime, poll!

 

Comments (22) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
I'm really not looking forward to only having my garbage picked up every other week. This will not end well.
Posted by Rusty! on October 24, 2011 at 11:56 AM · Report
2
The snap closure on the lid seemed to not work at first, but we're getting along fine now. Still wondering how this one's gonna go come fruit fly season.
Posted by rich bachelor on October 24, 2011 at 12:14 PM · Report
3
I live in a fourplex and they gave us four of 'em-- well, five actually, they left an extra one on our deck-- so I guess it's not just for houses. Although neither of them had particularly great snaps on 'em.
Posted by tk. on October 24, 2011 at 12:31 PM · Report
4
My snap closure is having problems too. Any advice on shutting that thing tight? As you can probably imagine my compost stew is not exactly aromatic.
Posted by Wm. Steven Humphrey on October 24, 2011 at 12:31 PM · Report
5
I noticed that the containers are recyclable. I think I know exactly where I'm putting mine.
Posted by Jason E. on October 24, 2011 at 12:34 PM · Report
6
@WSH: You didn't expect the city-provided bucket to actually function, did you? Buy a 5-gallon bucket with an airtight lid. And check your cynicism fuse, I think it may have burnt out.
Posted by Todd Mecklem on October 24, 2011 at 12:48 PM · Report
7
Humpy: to snap it shut, you have to put the lid in place and then push straight down on the end of the tongue-like thing.

Mirk: your thumbs-up, thumbs down website is wrong. You can throw non-food things like paper towels, napkins, tea bags, coffee filters in there, too.
Posted by sgtgrumbles on October 24, 2011 at 12:59 PM · Report
8
http://portlandsunshine.blogspot.com/2011/10/compost-bins.html
Posted by portlandsun on October 24, 2011 at 1:05 PM · Report
9
I have been using mine for a lunch bucket.

Thank you for the website now I know that rats, cats, and dead bodies go into the green compost can.

Where do I put the street trash and homeless stuff left when the cops drag them off ?

Where do I put the dog and people shit I find on my front yard ?
Posted by Rosy on October 24, 2011 at 1:42 PM · Report
10
I have a fourplex, and we didn't get any. Yet, at least.
Posted by Reymont on October 24, 2011 at 1:43 PM · Report
11
I'm in a house (albeit a rental house) and I didn't get one yet! Are they supposed to have all been delivered by now? WHINE.
Posted by jriley on October 24, 2011 at 1:49 PM · Report
12
As a longtime kitchen composter, I suggest you guy a bucket with a carbon filter and use the bucket the city gave you for something else. Your olfactory system will thank you for it come July.
Posted by Chuck Garabedian on October 24, 2011 at 1:54 PM · Report
13
You get what you vote for! Just wait until your buckets become bio hazards.
Posted by Andy from Beaverton on October 24, 2011 at 2:49 PM · Report
14
Andy From Beaverton as usual with the "Not to painfully overstate it, but..." comment!
Posted by rich bachelor on October 24, 2011 at 3:04 PM · Report
15
We've been excited about this since it was announced. Our household could already get away with garbage pickup once a month anyway.
Posted by cat & beard on October 24, 2011 at 3:04 PM · Report
16
I have a dog who eats my leftovers. Better that than collect maggots, ugh.
Posted by PDXwahine on October 24, 2011 at 6:36 PM · Report
17
That's great for you, but most households are made up of more than just a cat and a beard.
Posted by Todd Mecklem on October 24, 2011 at 6:37 PM · Report
18
@Rich Bach, put it in the fridge in the summer when fruit flies are about.
Posted by bikefor1 on October 24, 2011 at 8:03 PM · Report
19
There's a Portlandia sketch right there....The Anal-Retentive Garbageman.

We compost our veggie scraps, so there's going to be five garbage sorts for us - trash, glass and deposit bottles/cans (put them out so the bums can pick them out of the yellow bin), recyclables, yard debris, and the beige bucket for eggshells, coffee filters, tea bags (compostable, but those three don't break down well), meat, fat, and bone scraps, and presents the cats leave us (anything animal-based goes into the freezer in a bag, then dumped into the beige bin, then into the green bin.
Posted by LawyerPepper on October 24, 2011 at 10:39 PM · Report
20
@Rosy - shit and human leavings go in a public trashcan; cat presents go in the freezer, then into the green compost bin on trash day (dead birds, mice, and rats are meat scraps, right?0
Posted by LawyerPepper on October 24, 2011 at 10:41 PM · Report
21
I am pretty excited about it----but don't know if I will use my brown bucket from the city. I have an old laundry detergent 3 gallon bucket (with a lid) that has worked great for our compost for 6 years.
Can't wait for garbage to go to every other week! If our family of five can do it, surely you wusses can figure it out.
Posted by ingrid on October 25, 2011 at 9:05 AM · Report
22
Haven't received one and won't use it if I do. Composting is disgusting!
What were these PLASTIC buckets made from? Recyclable plastic bags that are now banned?
I don't and will not separate anything anymore. All goes into a paper bag mixed together and into the recycling containers.
Posted by luckybulldog13pdx on October 25, 2011 at 11:27 AM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use