Compost

 Residential Food Waste Collection Program

Did you know that food waste that ends up in landfills produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is 80x more warming than Carbon Dioxide? Simply reducing the food waste in your garbage deeply helps the climate and pollution crisis. And what you can do with your waste food is simple: Turn it into soil by composting! 

Thanks to a generous grant from the O’Connor Foundation, the town of Shandaken is introducing its first food waste collection program! Starting on January 4th, you can drop off your food scraps at the Town Recycling Center.  There will be a bear proof metal container like those used by national parks available. 

The Center is open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 7:30am to 12:30pm.

 

Compostable items

We can compost the following cooked and uncooked foods:

  • Vegetables and Fruit (without produce stickers)
  • Coffee and tea grounds and bags
  • Egg shells
  • Bread, Pasta and Rice
  • Meat and fish

We cannot compost:

  • Metal or plastic
  • Cigarettes or dryer lint
  • Bones larger than 1 inch diameter
  • Compostable food service ware or bags
  • Fats, oils and greases
  • Pet or human waste
  • Cheese or dairy products

Once a week, a local farmer will collect the containers and turn the food scraps into soil for use on his farm. He uses an insulated Jora composter designed to keep the contents hot throughout the winter. From start to finish, his process takes about 3 weeks. Keeping it local also reduces the C02 used if we had to transport to another facility. 

Sign up to receive updates on the program by emailing Shandakenclerk@yahoo.com.