We hope Yakima's leaf bag program is worth repeating

The following editorial appears in the Yakima Herald-Republic on Friday, Nov. 28, 2008.

Mother Nature, human nature and the nature of today's economy will all play a role in the future of the wildly successful giveaway of biodegradable leaf bags by the city of Yakima this fall.

Thanks to a state Department of Ecology grant of $40,000 and another $10,000 raked up from city coffers, the city's Public Works Department handed out 50,000 of the light green bags, designed to break down along with the leaves to become nutrient-rich compost instead of trash taking up landfill space. The program was intended to introduce such bags to the public. The city quickly ran out of the bags, but now have another 20,000 ready to distribute.

First, we'll have to see if the cornstarch-based bags break down in the landfill's composting pits. In past years, crews have had to cut open the standard plastic bags in order to extricate the leaves.

The city will also have to determine whether people grabbed up the bags because they are ecologically friendly or if they just liked the idea of free bags. And, the city will check if residents followed the rules and used them only for leaves and not other garden and yard waste. One city official said some of the free bags have been spotted
in residential garbage cans.

Finally, we'll have to see whether the economics of government agencies acting as the purchasing agent for a household commodity was worth it, both in the short term and in long-term landfill space savings. We like the program, but we can't ignore all the economic red flags out there. The state budget forecast is dismal. The national economy is falling fast. Government agencies will be curtailing expenses because the public isn't interested in paying more taxes.

So, should the city and state be providing leaf bags? Maybe not, but we can't forget the environmental warning signs either. Our landfills are filling up. Air quality concerns preclude the mass burning of a city's leaves. Why should we waste a natural resource that could be used to create soil-enriching compost that the city can use or even sell?

The biodegradable leaf bag pickup will continue through December, at which point the city will have to head back out to get the nonbiodegradeable bags picked up. (Hint, check with the public works department to get bags to transfer your leaves into. That way they will get picked up lots sooner.)

Biodegradable bags are coming onto the commercial market. The city is only using the free bags in the test compost pit, so they can really study how well the bags and leaves break down. The consistency in bags also helps those hefting the bags into the trucks. Some of those black bags end up the size of filing cabinets -- and probably weigh as much when stuffed with wet leaves.

We're hopeful that the city can find a way to make this system work. Perhaps they could even buy the bags next year and sell them instead of handing them out for free, in order to maintain that consistency. And we hope that city residents see the benefits in making sound environmental choices.

• Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.

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