In Branford, a push to pull organic food scraps from the Town’s solid waste stream is getting a boost with a curbside collection pilot program in Short Beach. The Short Beach pilot program hopes to build awareness about food waste composting, remove some food waste tonnage from municipal solid waste, and help to estimate the savings potential for future programs, said Diana McCarthy-Bercury, the Town’s Sustainability and Compliance Manager.
Branford generates over 12,500 tons of municipal solid waste every year. Among all of that tonnage, were all of Branford to fully embrace food waste composting as a practice, “…we can divert 25 percent of our waste tonnage to food waste composting,” McCarthy-Bercury noted.
The six-month pilot program began in Short Beach on August 2 with weekly curbside collection services provided by Blue Earth Compost (Hartford) on the same day as trash collection. The Town of Branford is picking up the tab for 100 Short Beach households to participate in the pilot, which asks them to collect food scraps in a special bin and bags provided by Blue Earth.
Meanwhile, McCarthy-Bercury has applied for a CT Dept. of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) grant, which, if awarded, will extend the pilot program to two additional areas of Branford, yet to be determined. “We’re doing it based off of interest. So if folks are interested in bringing the food waste pilot to their neighborhood, reach out to us and let us know,” she said.