Norway & Paris Solid Waste partner with We Compost It! to launch “Free Food Scrap Drop-Off Program” at the Brown Street Transfer Station.
Local residents should feel good when they see orange and green compost bins when visiting the Brown Street Transfer Station. The compost bins represent a cost-free opportunity to divert their leftover vegetable trimmings, coffee grounds, fruit rinds, bones, and meat scraps from the landfill or trash incinerator. Local households are taking advantage of the new We Compost It! household composting program to transform their kitchen waste into Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association-approved compost that can be used to renew and enhance local growing soils.
“Food scraps and other organic materials represent 25 to 40 percent of what we throw into the trash every day,” said Norway Paris Solid Waste Board Member, Tony Giambro. “Organics offer a huge opportunity for our communities to boost our recycling rate. Residents of Norway and Paris regularly visit the transfer station, so all our neighbors need to do is to collect their food scraps in a separate bucket and dump it into the compost totes when they arrive on Brown Street. The process is simple, and composting is free to residents visiting the transfer station.”
Maine households currently throw away up to 40 percent of their food on average, and organic materials comprise more than 35 percent of the average household’s total waste stream. Household kitchen scraps are costly to manage within the traditional waste stream, and food scrap collection and composting programs are taking root nationwide to expand recycling programs.
“This is a great composting option for folks who would like to do their part, but don’t have the time, space, or expertise to do it in the backyard,” commented Giambro.
After collecting food scraps from local residents, We Compost It! then transforms the organic material at the We Compost It! facility to nutrient-rich compost. The compost will be used by local gardeners and landscapers to grow food and flowers. We Compost It! donates compost to schools throughout southern and central Maine.
“Our role is to make composting easy and reliable for Norway and Paris residents,” said Brett Richardson, General Manager of We Compost It!. “Nobody likes to throw away food. We remove the food scraps on a regular schedule. We would love to expand this program to the local school system to help composting truly grow roots in the community.”
Learn more about We Compost It! at www.wecompostit.com.
