Food waste in landfills is a major source of methane emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Metropolitan composting programs take biodegradable waste and turn it into nutrient rich compost.  In London, UK they use the compost for their park services, and sell it back to the community gardeners at an affordable price.  Participation is voluntary but highly encouraged and the program has been quite popular.

Currently the City of Portland has a composting program for businesses and restaurants, but we would like to see this program expanded to all residential waste.  A program similar to London's could be installed here if city policy makers knew that there was sufficient demand.  Expanding this program would help reduce the carbon footprint of Portlanders and give back to the community through parks and gardens.