Southbury starts food scraps program

#SouthburyCT #FoodScraps

Janine Gibney recycles food scraps at the Southbury Transfer Station. (Chuck Litty photo)

Food Scraps Recycling at the Southbury Transfer Station is quickly being embraced by Southbury residents. The program started July 1 and as of July 11 over half a ton of food scraps had been collected from town residents participating in the program! The program is free, and Southbury residents can drop off food scraps during normal transfer station hours, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The food scraps, a valuable resource, are hauled by Curbside Compost to commercial processors where they are used for making compost or creating biogas to produce energy.

Southbury residents can learn more or purchase a starter kit during a program at the Southbury Library Tuesday, July 25, at 6:30 p.m. Registration is free to everyone, and the program will be both via Zoom and in person. Go to www.southburylibrary.org to register. In addition, volunteers will be at the Southbury Transfer Station most Tuesdays and Saturdays through July to answer questions and sell an optional inexpensive food scraps starter kit.

Sustainable Southbury, a local nonprofit, has partnered with the town to divert food waste that would otherwise go to a landfill or be incinerated. Along with volunteer efforts, Sustainable Southbury received grants from the Rotary, New England Grass Roots Fund, and the Community Foundation, and conducted fundraising through the Sustainable CT Match Fund.

Helana Hoover-Litty a lead volunteer with Sustainable Southbury said, “When families start collecting their food waste, they realize how much food goes into the trash and is wasted and start changing their habits.”

Find more information at www.sustainablesouthbury.org/southburyfoodscraps, or contact them at info@sustainablesouthbury.org.