Submitted by Roslyn Reeps and Maureen Farrell Charney
(October 18, 2023) — The Killingworth Board of Selectmen has unanimously approved a new, free food scrap recycling pilot program to begin November 1, 2023.
Blue Earth Compost, based in Hartford, will be placing food scrap collection bins at the Killingworth Transfer Station, located at Recycle Way. The program is free to all town residents with a Transfer Station sticker.
There will be two opportunities in the near future to learn more about this program:
Sunday, October 22, 2023 from Noon-3:00 p.m., volunteers will be at the pumpkin carving event at Parmelee Farm.
Tuesday, October 24, 2023 at 7:00 p.m., there will be a free webinar to detail the new program and answer questions about recycling at the Transfer Station. The webinar will feature Sam King, co-owner of Blue Earth Compost, and Sherill Baldwin from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). This webinar will be offered virtually. Residents without access to the internet can attend in person at the Killingworth Library community room. Click here to access the webinar.
We also will be offering 100 Killingworth households the chance to have a free compost kit, which will consist of a counter-top container, a six-gallon food scrap transport container and a roll of twenty-five compostable bags. (These kits are great to have, but are not necessary to participate in the program.) In order to obtain these free kits, at least one resident over the age of 18 from each household who signs up will commit to take part in a brief, anonymous survey and attend the free webinar. Don’t delay! Sign up here to get your food scrap recycling kit!
Blue Earth will collect the food scraps and haul them to Quantum Biopower, a state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection-approved anaerobic digester in Southington.
In twenty-one days, Quantum can convert the food scraps into compost, and contain the methane byproduct inside the facility into bio-gas that generates electricity for the town of Southington.
Killingworth pays $116 per ton to have municipal solid waste hauled to a regional transfer station in Essex where it is then hauled to out-of-state landfills, according to town leaders. Data from DEEP states that about 22% of the waste stream is food. Pulling this material out of the regular waste stream has the potential to save the town money on its overall waste fees.
The ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of tonnage hauled away by removing food from the trash. Other surrounding towns, such as Haddam, Deep River, Guilford, Old Saybrook and Essex are participating in similar food scrap recycling programs.
Food scraps can be converted into compost, which improves soil quality, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, helps to retain water in the soil, and reduces soil erosion, the town said.
Many food items cannot not be placed in a backyard compost. All food scraps can be composted through the anaerobic digester.
“If it Grows, It Goes” is the Blue Earth motto. Acceptable items include fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry and bones, fish/shellfish and shells, dairy products, bread, pasta, rice, grains, eggs, eggshells, chips and snacks, nuts and seeds, left over and spoiled food, coffee grounds, tea bags (no staples), paper towels and napkins used for food production (not for cleaning), cut flowers and pet food (no pet waste).
For more information about our recycling initiatives, including food scrap recycling, visit our Transfer Station page on the Killingworth town website https://townofkillingworth.com/transfer-station/.
