Two pilot programs that keep a substantial amount of food waste out of landfills are putting many of those concerns to rest in Otter Tail County, according to the person who started them last March. Cedar Walters, education officer at the county’s solid waste department, said coaching and ongoing support were needed for those who hadn’t done something like it before. “Most of them found that once they got going, all that nervousness about the unknown did kind of fade away,” Walters said.
The organics recycling program focuses on schools, hospitals, health care facilities and restaurants — places that generate large amounts of food waste. A backyard composting program helps individuals and families reduce waste by composting food scraps at home. With the help of grant money, the two programs have kept more than 216,000 pounds, or 108 tons, of food waste and other compostable matter out of the garbage.
That’s a lot of scraps from fruits and vegetables, bread, pasta, meat, fish, bones, dairy products, egg cartons, napkins and paper towels recycled in less than a year. Anywhere from 30-40% of the food produced in this country is wasted, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That spoiled food, food scraps and other compostable matter makes up 25-30% of the waste stream, Walters said, the single largest component of what is going into landfills. Programs that compost those items are catching on across Minnesota and other parts of the country.