City of Portland plans food recycling, scaling back trash pickup

PORTLAND, Ore. -- The City of Portland could be coming to the dinner table.

The city estimates it could reduce about 30 percent of what's trucked to area landfills by having people recycle table scraps at the curb.

The scraps are considered a missed opportunity because they can be converted into compost. That's something farms can use.

In just a few neighborhoods at first, Mayor Sam Adams said he wanted to try to the plan. The city said they will then "play around" with twice-a-month garbage pick-ups to be able to afford the cost of the weekly food scrap experiment.

"Curbside composting is good for the environment," Adams said. "It is an economic development pitch here and it is totally in keeping with our sustainable values."

Adams will release the fine details about the pilot project in his State of the City address Friday.

Seattle is already doing it successfully and Adams is convinced Portland will embrace the idea.

As to the possible inconvenience for families of having less frequent garbage pickup in this food scrap experiment, Adams said the same concerns were once raised years ago when curbside recycling was invented.

And just like then, he thinks people will get used to it.