I'll take 15,000 tons of garbage to go please.

A few days ago it was announced that our fair city was given an EPA grant in the amount of $50,000 to help turn some of our restaurant food waste into compost for use as fertilizer by local lanscaping companies, farmers and even you and I right here in our home gardens.

The program which will start out with 30 restaurants being involved is designed to help turn our food waste into a usable product and make our community better in the process. The compost will be sold by the city to people that are interested in using it.

I was really surprised by the numbers that are being talked about in regard to this project.

Were you aware that we have over 1,000 restaurants here? Can you believe that these establishments produce nearly 15,000 tons of food waste annualy? That is 30,000 pounds of banana peels, half-eaten hamburger buns and other random items. That is also half the weight of the statute of liberty. That is a whole lot of trash!

This seems to be a positive step for Modesto. Are you a business owner or do you know of a particular restaurant that is involved with this project? How do you feel about things like this that are designed to make Modesto a more responsible and eco-conscious place to live? Is enough being done in your opinion? Do you have any suggestions?

Post your feedback here and now as a comment or write your own blog entry.

If you would like more information on this program you can call Karin Rodriguez of the City of Modesto at 209-577-5453.