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CONCLUSION <br /> <br /> Communities with integrated composting education and compost bin distribution programs <br />have achieved participation rates of 20% to 40% of the households. Participation rates this high, <br />however, are not possible with only one or the other type of program. Bin distribution is critical <br />to large-scale participation, because lack of a bin is the number one barrier to composting. <br />Making bins available at a Iow cost is the best way to help residents get started. In Toronto, <br />for example, a survey revealed that of those who participated in the home composting bin <br />distribution program by buying a $15 bin, "91 percent ... would not have purchased a <br />composting bin at the retail price of $99." (ibid., p. 46) <br /> <br /> ACHC has set a realistic goal of 20%, or 80,000 Alameda County households <br />composting. The benefits are numerous: waste diversion at $12 to $15 per ton, source <br />reduction, environmental education, and developing a strong market for compost. <br /> <br /> Alameda County can achieve all these benefits economically and ecologically by investing <br />in both compost education and compost bins. <br /> <br />7 <br /> <br /> <br />