BendiNewsTest: Seattle will embarrass and fine residents who don’t compost

In Seattle, there is now a big difference between trash and food. A new city law makes it illegal to toss out your leftovers and food scraps with the rest of your garbage. Effective this July, city residents will be penalized with a fine if they fail to separate their trash. City officials enacted the law on January 1 but Seattle residents won’t be fined for the offense until July 1. That doesn’t mean they won’t have an incentive to change their ways in the meantime. Until the fine goes into effect, sanitation workers will place a giant red tag on any garbage bags that appear to contain food waste. This is intended in part to remind folks of the new rules, but if residents feel a little embarrassment at the same time, all the better.