BOISE, Idaho — The City of Boise started a compost programin 2017, now they say participation is so high they need more space to process what they're collecting from residents.
The city said they've collected nearly 133,000 tons of compostable material since the start of the program. With so much compostable material being collected, the facility that processes the compostable material is set for an expansion, which will allow the facility to process roughly 14,000 more tons a year.
The compost program is available to every Boise resident and it has a participation rate of 97% among single-family homes. Natalie Monro, the communications manager for the City of Boise Public Works department, said participation has been high from the start.
"It's something that Boise really wants to participate in, is really excited about. It really fits in well with a lot of our other compost and recycling programs," Monro said.
And with leaves starting to fall, the city has a few reminders about how leaf collection works with the composting program.
"Unlike how we used to do it in the past, leaves are collected year-round so as soon as the leaves start to fall, residents can start collecting them and putting leaf bags out," Monro said.
The city wants to remind people not to use any plastic bags to collect leaves and not to let any plastic get into your non-leaf compost too.
They're recommending people fill up their compost cart with leaves first then set out paper leaf bags next. The city will collect up to five-leaf bags a week.
To find more information about the program, click here.
