San Diego neighborhood composting creates a community out of kitchen scraps
(Nelvin C. Cepeda / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Program piloted in Chula Vista cul-de-sac takes root across city as residents embrace effort; leader offers advice on how to start your own
By Caron Golden
San Diego Tribune
Dec. 23, 2023 6 Am Pt
Excerpt:
Dawn Waibel lives around the corner from Matthias and Bonney. She rents her house, so she wasn’t interested in making an investment in composting, plus she’s aware that she can’t produce enough on her own to make it worthwhile. But she has a container garden and met Matthias through one of her programs, so she’s become one of the neighborhood composting participants.
“I’ve met a lot of different people and made new friends,” Waibel said. “I don’t eat meat or dairy, but I process so many vegetables my compost bucket is usually at least half full or full every week. I love that I have an easy way of taking care of it and it’s also more environmentally friendly.”
Pia Coleman lives a few houses down the street from Matthias and Bonney with her husband and their five children. Two are in high school. The younger ones are ages 6, 3 and 1. Coleman keeps a garden that the little ones help with. Six-year-old Luciana often carries a container of the family’s scraps to the drop-off with her siblings and mom.
Over the summer, Coleman grew zucchini, lettuce, kale, tomatoes and bell and jalapeño peppers. Compost from the program enriched their growth. By participating, she’s gotten to know Matthias, and received gardening advice from her.
“I remember she was walking door to door and that’s how I realized she was my neighbor,” Coleman said. “I was just starting to get into regenerative gardening. She got me at a time when I was all in, and she’s taught me a lot.”
As for the green waste bin, Coleman said her family only uses it for cleaning up the yard.
