Composting

 

Good news, bad news

The bad news—meal preparation in our homes and restaurants creates a huge amount of leftover food.  Tons of food scraps are a valuable resource that shouldn’t be wasted.

The good news—you can choose how to turn this resource into healthy, new soil.

Composting is nature’s way of recycling-- a time proven and rewarding way to turn food scraps and yard trimmings into a nutrient-rich soil conditioner.  It can increase the soil’s ability to retain water and replenish nutrients which get depleted over time.

Learn more about how to decrease the amount of food that you waste, check out http://stopfoodwaste.org/

A menu of choices for your food scraps

DIY @ Home

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Drop-off @ Leb Landfill

Thanks to a new program by the City of Lebanon, area residents can take their food scraps to the Lebanon landfill where they will be composted and used for onsite erosion control. This use of local resources helps avoid the use of virgin soil products and increases landfill capacity.

Participation requires a permit which is available at this link.  Appropriate disposal bags to line the container are also required.  

You can find more information here.

Food scraps are a large proportion of what goes into any landfill, so composting food that you would usually throw away will not only extend the life of our landfill but reduce its harmful methane emissions.

Residential Service

For those who cannot or prefer not to compost at home, you can subscribe to one of the options offered by Nordic Waste Service--

  • Drop-off service: Customers exchange their filled 5-gallon food scrap bucket for a clean bucket, liner and lid weekly at 3 Coop Food Store locations (Hanover, Lebanon, White River Junction) during normal business hours.

  • Curbside Pickup: Nordic picks up the customer’s filled 5-gallon food scrap bucket and leaves clean bucket, liner and lid at the customer’s location weekly. Curbside pickup service is available in Lebanon, West Lebanon, Hanover and Etna.

  • Get more information, current rates or sign up, at werecyclefood.com.

Commercial Service

Bob Sandberg in Corinth, Vermont collects food scraps from several Upper Valley businesses in New Hampshire and Vermont. He leaves large totes at facilities and takes the food scraps back to his farm where he composts them primarily for use by people who buy the compost by the truck load. Full totes are replaced by clean totes. You can reach Bob at 802.439.5563, or email him at bobsndbrg@gmail.com. Visit the Sandberg Farm Facebook or see The Compost Man – Corinth, VT on YouTube.