If you already compost at home, and you prefer to continue with that—you're awesome!

Most likely, you’re not composting things like meat, bones, dairy, avocado pits, greasy leftovers, etc. Feel free to register with the program and only use it for those items.

For the 100 household pilot, we calculated that we were diverting about 2 tons of food scraps per month and reducing our CO2e by almost 4 tons per month. That’s equivalent to taking 10 cars off the road! This is according to the StopWaste Interactive Greenhouse Gas Calculator:

https://www.stopwaste.org/at-work/reduce-and-reuse/recycling-business-waste/recycling-climate-protection/greenhouse-gas

Our composting contacts (Ellerslie Stables, The O Zone, and UCRRA) have told us that it simply takes too long for these new disposable products to break down. This creates real problems in their operations. The farm we're working with, Ellerslie Stables, also asks us to refrain.

Sure, we encourage neighbors to help each other drop off food waste. Just make sure you’re both registered so we can contact you both with any updates.

The drop-off location is centrally located in the main municipal parking lot in the Village. It’s in the section behind Aroi, beside the grey Farmers' Market shed.

It is important for you to shut and lock the collection dumpster after you dump your bucket of scraps. The farm cleans the collection dumpster during the weekly pickup. Each week the farmer puts used bedding as a base that the food waste gets dumped onto, soaking up juices. This lessens odors, especially in the heat of the summer.

We provide participants with a small lidded bucket, specifically designed for food scrap collection. Or if you have a bucket you prefer to use, that’s fine.

The bucket is about 2.5 gallons. For a family of 4, plan to drop off once or twice a week. A smaller household may only need to drop off once a week or less. It all depends.

We do suggest that you line your bucket with a piece of newspaper or a brown paper bag. This reduces goop and makes it easier to dump out your food waste and quicker to clean.

You will be responsible for cleaning your own bucket.

It’s true, the Village runs a curbside yard waste program for leaves and brush, which we then recycle into mulch. However, we do not offer this service year round, and there are certain other logistical challenges to offering curbside food waste pickup. It’s something we’ll continue to think about.

We onboard new participants, so you’ll know what you can and can’t include.

As for contamination from the general public, the collection dumpster is secured with locks that prevent the general public from wandering over and dumping in their trash. We may install a surveillance camera to ensure compliance.

Participants must not share the code with others who haven’t been onboarded. This is when confusion about what can be dumped in happens and can ruin the whole load. In this case, it’s not the rotten apple that spoils the whole barrel — but one stinkin’ plastic bag!

The collection dumpster is closed and locked.

At the compost site at the farm, we use a composting technique where the piles heat up to over 130 degrees F. This deters critters.

Whether these drop spots continue is at the discretion of the HOAs. Hopefully they do, as this is the most convenient option for Woods and Gardens residents! These residents are welcome to register and drop off at the Village's drop spot, if you prefer that for whatever reason.

Most people keep it right by their kitchen sink. Some keep them in a cabinet under their kitchen sink. Some prefer to keep it in their garage or outside their kitchen door.

If you’re highly sensitive to smells or fruit flies are bugging you, keep your bucket in your freezer or fridge.