Trustees Contemplate Compost

A proposal to launch a pilot program to facilitate food composting dominated the discussion at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday night January 12. Members of the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee lobbied Village Managers and Trustees in December in support of a pilot program to collect food scraps from a test group of residents and transport them to a commercial composting facility. The program would be the first of its kind in Westchester.

Participants would receive two food collection bins – one for the kitchen counter and another wheeled bin that would be placed at the curb for collection. The cost of the pilot program for 100 families would be $44,500.

Currently Scarsdale's waste is transported to Peekskill where it is burned to ash.

Commenting on the proposal Mayor Mark said, "While there appears to be environmental benefits of the program, none of them apply to Scarsdale.... Our waste is burned, not dumped and there would be virtually no savings to the village from the program." He continued, "Little would seem to flow back to the village economically." He explained that the food scraps would be picked up by a village truck and transported 48 miles to the food composting facility, as opposed to 27 miles to the resource recovery facility in Peekskill, "involving additional CO2 emissions and fuel." He argued, "If there is less ash in Peekskill, that would benefit them, not us."

Projecting forward he said that if the program were expanded ten-fold, the annual cost to the village would be $445,000, enough to pave a mile of village streets. He suggested that residents take up composting on their own, and said that the Board of Trustees would consider to weigh the expense versus other needs in the upcoming budget process.

Trustee Bill Stern spoke in favor of the pilot program telling the group that a similar program at Greenacres School has reduced the amount of garbage from 18 48-gallon bags a day to just one bag a day. He said that caterers use recyclable storage containers, children eat with wood utensils and bring their food to school in reusable containers. He said, "If the program is adopted, I am sure we would find a closer recycling facility." He said," What comes from the earth should go back to the earth."

Mayor Mark commented that two thirds of the program Stern was describing at the school had nothing to do with food scraps – but pertained to recycling of packaging and the use of reusable containers.

Carl Finger said, "No one is taking issue with recycling in the schools. My daughter was a recycling ranger." He argued, "just because Scarsdale does not receive an economic benefit, that does not mean we should not do it. It has to start somewhere.... There might not be a dollar of dollar payback, but I don't want to make that a litmus test. I want to keep hearing about this and discussing it."

Ron Schulhof of Springdale Road who is a member of the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee pointed out that those who compost in their yards can only compost foods such as fruits vegetables and coffee grounds. They cannot compost meat or processed foods. He currently takes his compost to Whole Foods. He said, "Food is a resource. We should conserve it and use it to make compost."

He explained that the program was about education for residents and their children. He said it's "not just about dollars and sense. To not try is a travesty. ... We are blessed to live here – and sometimes we need to take the lead on something."

In other business:

State Grant for Cayuga Pond Project: The Mayor announced that the Village has received a $1,050,000 grant from the state for use on the Cayuga Pond Project. The project is designed to alleviate flooding -- and with these funds new work will be possible. It will require consent from private property owners whom the village will contact to get permission to access their properties. The grant represents 75% of the project cost and the village will be required to fund the other 25%.

Metro North Stairway: The Metro North replacement staircase on East Parkway is now in place, but not yet ready for use. The finishing work is in process. Once the stairway is complete, the bus stop will be moved back to the top of the stairs. A ribbon cutting ceremony for the new stairway is scheduled for Wednesday January 20 at 7:45 am.

Village Election: The Village election will be held on Tuesday March 15 from 6-9 am and 12- 9 pm at Scarsdale Village Hall.

Gift to the Library: The Board of Trustees accepted a gift of $79,600 from the Friends of the Scarsdale Library to be used for renovations and improvements to the library.

Letters: The Village received 66 letters and emails since the last Village Board meeting.
-33 concerned the library, with 25 in support and 8 opposed to plans to renovate and improve the Scarsdale Library.
-26 communications in support of the food waste compost pilot program were also received.