Team up with your neighbors to reduce waste, and you could win $50,000 toward a community improvement project in your neighborhood. CleanScapes and Seattle Public Utilities are challenging neighborhoods to compete in a season-long competition to reduce, reuse and compost, to see who can win the $50k prize.

The neighborhood collection area with the largest percentage decrease of tons between Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 wins and the Community Council (in our case, the Queen Anne Community Council) for the winning area will choose community improvement project from a list of options – including pocket parks, public benches and neighborhood entrance landscaping – to be installed and maintained by CleanScapes, the city’s contracted garbage and recycling service. Get the details here (.pdf).

And in the spirit of waste reduction, there will also be a Food + Compostables event tomorrow, Tuesday, November 17 at Center House in Seattle Center. From 8:30 a.m. to noon there will be a vendor fair with exhibitor booths for compostable products, recycling collection bin manufacturers, local distributors and retailers, and panels featuring food service and property manager industry representatives. Get more information on the workshops and panels here (.pdf).

Happy composting!