Fall 09
Clearwater Creates Compost
Composting is a natural process in which organic
matter is broken down by micro-organisms in the
presence of oxygen. The material undergoes both
a chemical and biological transformation, and the
result is rich, dark and crumbly soil called compost.
In an effort to increase awareness about backyard
composting and to help reduce greenhouse gases in the
Bags are Bad for the Bin
While most everyone who recycles does their
best to place accepted recyclables into
the blue recycling bins, sometimes plastic
grocery bags, films and wraps sneak their
way in. Wrapping and packaging for paper towels, toilet
tissue, dry cleaning, and newspaper delivery bags are not
accepted in Clearwater’s single-stream recycling program.
That is because the sorting equipment that separates and
sorts Clearwater’s recyclables cannot process these materials
at the facility; they get tangled in the equipment and can
lead to equipment failures.
Sustainability
city of Clearwater, residents now may register for a virtual
training course to learn how to compost at home. Learn
the basics of backyard composting and in a way that is easy
to understand. The course is open to Clearwater residents,
and all are encouraged to enroll. The first 500 Clearwater
residents to complete the course are eligible to pick up a free
compost bin from the city with proof of residency. Enroll at
myclearwater.com/compost.
If you must place recycling in a bag, make it a paper bag,
such as shredded paper. During the recycling sorting process
at the city’s recycling vendor, plastic bags and the bagged
materials inside them are pulled from the sorting line and
are thrown away, regardless of what’s inside them. So take
your plastic bags, film and wrappers to any Publix grocery
store, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, or
other location that accepts plastic bags. When these plastics
are properly recycled, they can become recycled backyard
decking, fences, playground equipment, pipes and even new
plastic bags.
/compost