Trash talk

Re “Table scraps to be recycled,” Aug. 13

I was surprised and dismayed at the snarky tone of your article on the city’s experimental food waste pickup program. Specifically, the hardly veiled whine that “residents ... already lug three oversized bins to the curb” and now will have to “take on a fourth city-issued refuse can” seems petulant and shortsighted.

What better ideas does The Times have for getting rid of the detritus of our excessive consumerism?

No one is “lugging” a city trash bin; they are on wheels. The bins that go to the curb will weigh exactly the same; some of what went in the black bin will simply now go in the green bin. If your bins are too heavy, maybe you should give some thought to how much unnecessary trash is generated by our citizenry each week.

Quit dissing the program before it’s even started. Composting food trash is a fabulous idea and long overdue. A two-gallon container takes up less space than a wastebasket, and a daily sprinkling of baking soda takes care of odors. I have been composting my table scraps (and my food-soiled paper, but not bones) for years.

Sue Talbot

Los Angeles