PHOENIX, AZ — While it may not be top of mind, it matters where you toss your trash.
With thousands of people expected to visit Margaret T. Hance Park for the Super Bowl Experience, groups are working to ensure trash, recycling and composting bins are in sight.
“Whatever we can do on the front end to make sure that the right materials are going into the right containers makes the entire process go easier,” said Alberto Guardado, general manager for Republic Services.
During a tour of the 27th Avenue compost facility, Eduardo Rodriguez with Public Works for the City of Phoenix said, “The raw, food scraps, all mixed in there, and yes, it does not smell very good, but the process is very quick. We try to scoop that material as quick as possible, process it through and run it through here. Once you cover it with the other organic material, it keeps the smell down.”
The facility uses new technology to sort through local trash. Those materials then mix with mulch.
“Think of your grass clippings, your branches,” Rodriguez said. “We shred everything up as well as the food scraps that we have in the back, and all that material gets put into this big pile.”
This first phase will break down those materials to create good compost. Once the compost reaches its final stage around 60 days, it’s ready to use.
With more visitors in the Valley, that means more material which Rodriguez says is rich in moisture.
The more moisture, the quicker the compost will break down.
City officials ask that you ‘Recycle Right’, so the process can become more efficient.
