Here are the waste guidelines that Skyline needs, and wants, to follow! (both as a business in Alameda Co and a Green Church):

As most people do at home, we have guidelines for what goes into the 3 bins (Green/Compost,  Blue/Recycling, and Black/Landfill). One of the biggest new goals, everywhere in CA and some other states, is to avoid putting food or materials that will decompose, in the Landfill. Why? Because methane gas is produced during bio-degradation. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that adds very significantly to climate change.

The next important rule is that the recycling container may not contain any food either, or plastic bags. All bags, whether compostable or plastic, clog the recycling system. When this happens, many recyclable items end up in the Landfill. Therefore, all food must be put only in the Compost bin.  There cannot be any plastic or non-biodegradable things in the Compost bin. When food is stuck inside plastic, you can see what the problem is.

Another new piece of information that we have is that Reusable items, such as a reusable water bottle, or ceramic/glass/metal eating ware, are much lower energy/water/resource users than single use items.

-Catherine Kessler, February 2023