Arlington County is considering whether to add yard and food waste to its curbside recycling pickup.
The county is asking residents to complete a survey by Sept. 13 in order to gauge interest in the addition. Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services estimates that adding yard and food waste to the recycling program will increase the county’s recycling rate from 50.3 to 79.3 percent. About 50 percent of what residents throw away is yard or food waste, DES says.
Representatives from local civic associations will also be participating in focus groups about the proposed changes.
The proposal comes as the county prepares to award new solid waste collection contracts by the end of the year. The new contracts will take effect in July 2014.
If collected, the food and yard waste would be diverted away from landfills and would instead be composted.