Recent Stories with tag compost

TechFlash sees afterimages of Webvan in Amazon's new Tote delivery service, but I can't help thinking of the gold standard: Kozmo.com couriers delivering lunch half an hour after I ordered it. Tote won't be quite that fast, but from a cost perspective, Amazon has one-upped Kozmo: the twice-weekly Tote service is free, and there's no minimum spend. (You do have to complete your order two days before the next delivery date.)

If you order something from Amazon and you'd like them to deliver it the next time they're delivering in your neighborhood (the delivery days are zip code-specific), they'll truck it on over. The first zip to get Tote is 98112. The Tote bags are weather-resistant and reusable, and one way you can reuse them is to return items if there's any problem. Get the Tote FAQs here. (Perhaps you'd like to order a discounted Kindle? Even the Kindle DX has a lower price.)

Meanwhile, today inaugurates 1) a City of Seattle ordinance mandating that all single-use food service packaging at restaurants and grocery stores be either recyclable or compostable, and 2) a fully operational battlestar Starbucks recycling and composting program that incorporates front-of-store waste, too (i.e., there are more bins out front).

You've probably seen evidence of this, since Starbucks has been rolling out the new program at its 90 Seattle stores over the past month. The city's goal is to keep 6,000 tons of packaging and compostable waste out of landfills each year. Starbucks' goal is to get front-of-store recycling into all company-owned locations by 2015. (Their paper cups will head back to the plant for a second life as paper napkins.)...

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"green city, blue cans" courtesy of Flickr pool member zenobia_joy

"Great," you say, "a 'tentative agreement' between Waste Management and Teamsters Local #174, it would bring a tear to my eye--except you can't tell because my stinky uncollected garbage already has me crying for real!"

Hang on, little buddy, Waste Management is coming for you (but not recycling, yet):

• If residential garbage or food/yard waste was not collected on Wednesday, April 21 or Thursday, April 22, we will collect up to twice the regular amount of garbage and/or food/yard waste on your regular collection day, Wednesday or Thursday, April 28 or 29.
• Uncollected Recyclables will be collected on the next regularly scheduled recycling collection day, which, in some cases, will not be until Wednesday or Thursday, May 6 or 7

The agreement is tentative because the Teamsters have still to take the agreement to their membership for a vote this Sunday: "Neither side would disclose what concessions were made to reach an agreement, saying those details need to be presented to union garbage haulers first," says KING 5. Both sides have compromised, is all the Teamsters are saying--the major sticking point had been WMI's attempt to pass along rising healthcare costs to drivers.

While you're staring at that mountain of trash--all that in just a week!--maybe now is a good time to look into Seattle's composting program.