Trashing Your Trash: How Seattle Handles Waste

A school trip recently brought me to the wonderful city of Seattle. There are a couple of things that us Texans could learn from the Seattlites in terms of attitude and culture towards sustainability. A garden in the front yard is not that foreign here, bicycles roam the streets like wild cats in my neighborhood, and even the trash is a little greener. That's right. They have green trash.

The first time I saw it, I thought it to be a fluke. The second, a coincidence. The third, I knew they were on to something. I've said for sometime the best way to get people to recycle is to make it as convenient as throwing something away. Seattle has been placing recycling bins next to their trash cans for eons. What I found unique to the blue and black bins was a green one.... A compost bin. Yes, now you have the option, at least in Seattle, to compost your food instead of tossing it in the trash. What a concept.

Education about the environment is a priority here. More on that to come. For now, HERE is an educational game geared towards kids, but don't let that fool you. I learned a couple of things myself. It only take a couple of minutes to play. Enjoy. -Jason