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Food

Seattle Has Decided Not to Fine Its People for Their Pizza Crusts and Orange Peels

The plan to emblazon Seattle citizens’ trash cans with semi-literal Scarlet Letters and make them cough up moola for the sick crime of tossing out the barbecue-sauce soaked napkins from their all-weekend Rib-a-thons has apparently been postponed.
Photo via Flickr user dalboz17

A few months ago, some Seattleites were in a huff when the local government decided to impose fines and shaming upon its fair citizens who dared attempt to throw out their banana peels and kale stems and unwanted granola. "Composting for all!" declared the Seattle Public Utilities commission, slamming down the gavel.

But now, they're lightening up. The plan to emblazon Seattle citizens' trash cans with semi-literal Scarlet Letters and make them cough up moola for the sick crime of tossing out the barbecue-sauce soaked napkins from their all-weekend Rib-a-thons has apparently been postponed by Mayor Ed Murray, who has some hesitations about the "pizza box penalty," as it has come to be known in Seattle media. Initially scheduled to be enacted on January 1—and then pushed to July 1—the measure is now on hold until 2016, at the soonest. Rejoice by dumping entire raw chickens and boxes of cereal into the nearest dumpster!

According to Murray, the Draconian garbage rule simply isn't necessary at this point, as citizens are already doing a fine job of sorting their waste. The "stern letters" and petty fines were more of "disincentives"—at a mere $1 per single-family household in violation, though apartment complexes and office would have been charged a heftier $50 for filling their bins with paper towels, cardboard boxes with melted cheese stuck to the bottom of it, and uneaten birthday cake from Cindy's 40th.

At an Earth day event earlier this week, Murray said that "people are getting it without fines … Seattle is only weeks into our nation-leading program, and it looks like we are well on our way to achieving 38,000 tons of composting per year."

Good jobs, soil-making Seattle denizens. The Washingtonian city is all about that compost, so rev up your worms and let's keep making local artisanal dirt!

According to SeattlePI.com, recent surveys have shown that nearly three-quarters of the city's people are aware of the law. Let's pool all of those dollars saved by the penalty postponement and go to town on a couple of orders of mozzarella sticks, shall we?