Sustainability Committee Proposes Food Scrap Recycling Pilot Program for Scarsdale

Rather than throw out food scraps from meals, why not turn this valuable resource into nutrient-rich compost?

On Tuesday night December 8, the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee met with the Mayor, Village Board of Trustees and Village Management to propose a food scrap recycling program for Scarsdale. The proposal calls for a pilot program where 100 houses would be able to separate out food scraps from their regular trash to be picked up. Food scraps would then be brought to a commercial composting facility where it would be turned into compost. Scarsdale would be the first municipality in Westchester to launch such a program.

As those with kids in the elementary schools know, Scarsdale has been composting for years. On average, food scraps account for 15% of residential garbage. Since food scraps are collected with the regular trash, they end up at an incinerator in Peekskill, NY. However as the Sustainability Committee stated: Food scraps are a resource that can be turned into nutrient rich compost. Compost is a part of soil. If you've ever bought a bag of potting soil or topsoil, you've bought compost.

The Committee proposed a 12-month pilot program of 100 resident volunteers. The program would be open to all residents and participation would be free. Each participants would receive a starter kit that would include a small countertop pail (see right) to collect food scraps each day, a supply of compostable liner bags (made from corn!) for the pail and a wheeled bin (see below) to store the bags of food scraps. Participants would bring this bin to the curb each week for collection. The Sustainability Committee was quick to point out that these bins are made specifically to handle food scraps and come with a locking mechanism to prevent any neighborhood wildlife from opening the bin.

For anyone interested in composting in your backyard, this program is intended to complement a backyard compost bin. Since backyard composting can only handle certain items such as fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, grass clippings and the like (no meat, dairy, oils, processes food, etc.) this program would allow residents to compost other items. A municipal program that sends compost to a commercial facility can take all food scraps - including meat, dairy, bones, bread, rice and fish.

The cost of the pilot program has been estimated as approximately $45,000. The starter kit (countertop pail, curbside bin and package of liners) would account for approximately $3,500 of this cost. The balance comes from the cost of the weekly pickup, hauling the food scraps to a commercial composting facility and a tipping fee charged by the facility. Scarsdale would be the first community in Westchester to have a food scrap recycling program. However there are many successful programs in neighboring areas and throughout the country. The Sustainability Committee extensively studied other towns and cities to inform the structure of the proposed pilot program.

"After studying other communities we took their best practices and formulated our plan," said Ron Schulhof and Michelle Sterling, Forum Sustainability Committee members.

Food scrap recycling is already happening in four elementary schools, with the fifth to start in January. Westchester Reform Temple instituted a zero waste policy for their facility this year and already a number of events are being held without any waste (and with all food scraps going to a compost facility). There are also residents who compost on a small scale on their properties. Many of the parents of kids in the schools who are sending their food scraps to be composted have asked when is this coming to our homes?

This program will answer that need. The Sustainability Committee believes that once people start composting, it makes so much sense. It also feels good to not only minimize your trash but to take what was formerly thought of as trash and have it turned into useful compost.

If you are interested in participating in the pilot program, or want to voice support for it, email the Mayor at mayor@scarsdale.com to let him and the Village Board of Trustees know.