Could Backyard Chickens Save Norridge Taxpayers Some Scratch?
The city of Austin, Texas, is aiming to decrease landfill waste by 90% by 2040. To achieve this goal, they believe that backyard chickens can make a significant impact. In fact, they are even offering rebates for chicken coops to encourage residents to participate.
Backyard chickens are excellent at converting food scraps, weeds, and bugs into fresh eggs. A small flock of four chickens can consume around 332.8 pounds of household food waste each year, equivalent to the average amount of wasted food per person in the US. The city of Austin is hoping 1 % of households keep chickens, is so they can divert one million pounds of food waste from landfills. Not only does this benefit the planet, but it also results in taxpayer savings since waste disposal costs can be lowered.
Norridge, like Austin, has the potential to benefit from backyard chickens. According to the Annual Treasurer's Report for 2021-2022, Norridge spent over $1.3 million on garbage disposal services. If some households in Norridge kept backyard chickens, they could divert biomass from local landfills reducing the cost of disposal. Implementing a backyard chicken initiative could significantly decrease the amount of waste sent to landfills, resulting in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly community and lower tax money spent on waste removal.
References:
https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Online%20ARR%20Home%20Rebate-Chicken%20Keeping%202020.pdf
https://www.austintexas.gov/chickenguide
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https://www.epa.gov/recycle/preventing-wasted-food-home
https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/waste-management/materials-management/food-waste.html
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reducing-impact-wasted-food-feeding-soil-and-composting
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https://www.villageofnorridge.com/departments/finance-department/financial-information
