King County neighborhood trash 100 pounds lighter

Chalk up a win for the environment and a loss for the crows of Renton.

In a King County competition to reduce waste, six families eliminated close to 100 pounds of trash over four weeks. The neighborhood crows, which usually pick through the trash for food, are passing on it now that families are recycling their table scraps.

On Thursday morning, the neighbors gathered in the cul-de-sac in the Summer Wind subdivision for a final weigh-in to see who would be the biggest trash loser and take home a $100 Ikea gift card, a separate coupon book and a home consultation from a King County recycling expert.

The winners: Rebecca Gallagher, her husband and their two kids. The family's weekly trash went down by the largest percentage, from about 17 pounds on May 29 to 2 pounds on Thursday.

"It was easy," she said. "Just a matter of scraping plates into food bins and trying to be more conscious of what I bring into the house."

She plans to use her Ikea winnings to buy pantry containers and recycling bins to put in her home office.

Baiba Rubino, with her husband, 3-year-old daughter and infant son, came in second. Rubino had the most to lose four weeks ago when her trash weighed almost 63 pounds. Thursday it came in at less than 15 pounds.

When the county dumped out and poked through participants' trash Thursday, recyclable discards like those seen before — a crab leg, half-eaten burgers and napkins — were gone. Their trash was whittled down to plastic wrappers, unrecyclable plastic-clamshell containers, diapers and kitty litter.

Neighbors said they wanted to recycle for environmental stewardship, religious reasons and to set an example for their children. Together, they collectively cut their trash by 65 percent with simple changes such as these:

• Recycling food scraps and food-soiled paper. Moms said their trash dropped about 50 percent the first week just from placing food scraps into their yard-waste bin.

• Purchasing products with less packaging or with recyclable packaging. Gallagher stopped buying Capri Sun, which cannot be recycled, and started buying juice boxes, which can. Rubino switched from single-serving juice boxes to concentrate.

• Placing recycling bins not just in the kitchen but around the house, such as in bathrooms and home offices.

King County sponsored the competition to promote food recycling, a service it is gradually expanding to all areas. About 85 percent of the county has access to food-recycling services, although the level of service varies. People in some areas can recycle all food, while those in other areas can recycle only food waste without meat or dairy in it.

Renton offers neither right now, but provided special, temporary service during the competition. Participating families will now have to stop recycling their food because the service won't be available in Renton until November.

In April, Seattle will require all single-family homes to recycle food scraps.

Gallagher says she hopes the competition will inspire other people in the region to consider what changes they can make in their lives.

"I hope they start thinking, 'If I have been recycling, what more could I do? If I have not been recycling, how can I start?' "

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com