The Food Scrap Recycling Program was created in partnership between Waste Free Greenwich, Greenwich Recycling Advisory Board, and Greenwich Green & Clean. It is a free and voluntary program that allows Greenwich residents to collect their food scraps and take them to a collection site in order to be composted. The first site opened on June 15, 2020 at the Holly Hill Transfer Station.
“We sent out a survey to our mailing list to see how things were going a few months in, and a lot of people said they wanted a sight on the eastern side of town for collection so we aren’t driving all the way to Holly Hill,” said Julie DesChamps, the founder of Waste Free Greenwich. “It completes the loop, having food scrap collection at the Old Greenwich Farmers market. You are seeing this entire loop, your discarded scraps turning into food at the market locally. It highlights what a rich, valuable resource compost is… It is a natural cycle.”
Organic waste is over a third of the waste stream, with over 22% of waste being food scraps. This wastes not only the food itself, but the resources that went into making the food, such as the land, wildlife habitats, water, pesticides, and labor. Food waste in landfills is also a significant source of greenhouse gases.
This is even more relevant with the current waste crisis in Connecticut. There are only five incinerators in Connecticut and the largest of those, located in Hartford, is scheduled to close. Waste Free Greenwich worries that Greenwich residents will soon have a large problem with their waste. They see the best solution is to create less waste in the first place.