Pocatello plans curbside composting pilot program

Pocatello is going a little more green and saving locals a little hassle with a new pilot program for curbside composting.

After starting up the citywide recycling program about two years ago those in charge of the city’s sanitation department say it’s been a real success.

But they still find plenty of unrecyclables in the bins.

“This year in the summer time we did have grass show up in recycling, and grass and recycling do not mix,” Recycling Coordinator Debbie Brady said.

A curbside composting pilot program will provide brown topped bins for 500 homes to fill up with leaves and lawn clippings.

After being picked up along the street the cans come to the county landfill where piles and piles of organic waste sit, slowly becoming thousands of tons of compost.

“I think they’ll be people who love composting. And they’re going to do the right thing. It is a recycling program. You’re going to recycle that instead of putting it in a landfill,” Landfill Manager Therese Marchetti said.

It is a pilot program, so at first only 500 people will take part, paying an extra $5 a month.

The curbside composting pilot is being funded by a grant from the Department of Environmental Quality, and depending how well it goes it could potentially go citywide.

“We’ll just see how it goes during the season. And then we’ll evaluate the costs at the end of the pilot project and see if it’s something we want to expand on,” Marchetti said.

The pilot program is scheduled to start in April.

Pocatello locals can sign up for the program by clicking here.