In an effort to encourage its residents to compost food leftovers, the Seattle City Council passed on Monday a new set of rules regulating the garbage disposal methods of homes, businesses, and apartment buildings. In accordance with these new regulations, establishments or homes found to throw excessive food in their garbage will be penalized accordingly.

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Based on the guidelines set by the new rules, which was unanimously approved by the nine members of the Seattle City Council, trash collectors will be granted the authority to "take a cursory look each time they dump trash into a garbage truck" starting January of next year.

Upon inspection, the trash collectors will then record violations in the computer system of their trucks. The residents or establishment owners will subsequently find a ticket pointing out the violation posted on their garbage containers. Inspection of the dumpsters will be conducted randomly.

Residents discovered to have at least 10 percent food scraps or particular paper products in their garbage within a period of six months, which commences on January and ends in June, will be given a warning by the Seattle Public Utilities, as reported by the Associated Press.

The new rules will impose a $1 fine on single-family homes violating the aforementioned rules. Owners and inhabitants of business establishments and apartment buildings will also be required to obey the 10-percent-or-less limit set by the council. Commercial properties will be given two warnings prior to getting penalized with a $50 fine on their succeeding bill.

The imposition of the fines will commence on July 1.

According to the council officials, these new rules will aid Seattle in reaching its goal of recycling 60 percent of its total waste in 2015.

"Compostables are about 30 percent of what is still in the garbage and they are the largest target we have to help us reach our goals," shared Timothy Croll, the solid waste director of the utilities commission, in a statement given to Q13.

"Also, composting food waste reduces emissions of methane, which is a strong cause of climate change," Croll added.

Seattle residents, on the other hand, had mixed reactions on the new rules.

While some applaud the effort of the officials to encourage people to manage their trash properly, others doubt the appropriateness of imposing fines.

Others like 59-year-old Marty Bisch believe that offering a reward rather than enforcing penalties would have been preferable, particularly pointing out the anti-establishment biases of city officials.

"I realize that things are either a carrot or a stick mentality, but I would rather see someone get a reward than a fine," Bisch stated. "I don't think that's going to be a big incentive for people who aren't composting," the longtime Seattle resident added.

The newly legislated law is anticipated to provide an additional 38,000 tons of compost material annually. Moreover, the city official claim that these new rules will only require "minimal costs", which would be eventually offset by the reduction in the use of landfills, Q13 reported.