I have started reading a book I found in the library called City Chicks by Patricia Forman. In the first chapter she tells about the city of Diest in Flanders, Belgium. They put a line item in the city budget to provide 3 laying hens for free to 2000 households to reduce their trash collection fees. There collection fees were so high, they were expecting to save up to $600000 annually by this program. Yes, you have read it correctly, a city actually put in their budget to buy chickens for 2000 households. How can that save taxpayer dollars? I had to investigate further.
In an average city, about 25% of trash that goes to the landfill is considered biomass-grass clippings, coffee grounds, food waste, etc. Chickens eat their body weight in food each month. They are omnivores which means they eat both plant and animal material. An average chicken weighs about 8 lbs. In an average city about 5% of households can be expected to have a small flock of chickens. That would be 5415 households here in Lexington according to 2000 census figures (latest ones available). Trash collection costs about $7000000 annually in budget and approximately 190,000 tons are hauled off each year. Here are some figures.
3 chickens per household x 8 lbs month = 24 lbs food waste diverted
24 lbs x 12 months =288 lbs year
288 lbs x 5415 households =1559520 lbs/year diverted (779.76 tons/year)
$7000000/190000 tons=$36.84/ton average cost to tax payers for landfill bound trash
$36.84 x 779.76 tons/year diverted=$28,726.35/year savings
This seems like a small amount but that is just using 3 chickens. Most people have between 3-6 chickens. But in tight budgets, almost $29,000 can help pay a police officer or fireman's salary. Just by allowing to have chickens within city limits (at no cost to them), cities can save money on their waste collection budgets. The real benefit here is the amount of trash not going to the landfill. It also does not take into account compost created from excrement. The natural pesticide and herbicide jobs they perform for your garden and yard as they gobble up bugs and seeds from your garden and yard. Having chickens in the city provides more than eggs. It helps divert some of the waste out of our land fills.
In an average city, about 25% of trash that goes to the landfill is considered biomass-grass clippings, coffee grounds, food waste, etc. Chickens eat their body weight in food each month. They are omnivores which means they eat both plant and animal material. An average chicken weighs about 8 lbs. In an average city about 5% of households can be expected to have a small flock of chickens. That would be 5415 households here in Lexington according to 2000 census figures (latest ones available). Trash collection costs about $7000000 annually in budget and approximately 190,000 tons are hauled off each year. Here are some figures.
3 chickens per household x 8 lbs month = 24 lbs food waste diverted
24 lbs x 12 months =288 lbs year
288 lbs x 5415 households =1559520 lbs/year diverted (779.76 tons/year)
$7000000/190000 tons=$36.84/ton average cost to tax payers for landfill bound trash
$36.84 x 779.76 tons/year diverted=$28,726.35/year savings
This seems like a small amount but that is just using 3 chickens. Most people have between 3-6 chickens. But in tight budgets, almost $29,000 can help pay a police officer or fireman's salary. Just by allowing to have chickens within city limits (at no cost to them), cities can save money on their waste collection budgets. The real benefit here is the amount of trash not going to the landfill. It also does not take into account compost created from excrement. The natural pesticide and herbicide jobs they perform for your garden and yard as they gobble up bugs and seeds from your garden and yard. Having chickens in the city provides more than eggs. It helps divert some of the waste out of our land fills.
.bmp)
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