Written by Linda Talbott, Kristin Battistoni, Virginia Murphy
What do you do with your food scraps? Most of us put them in the trash, some of us compost them in our yards inviting unwanted critters. Haddam has a great solution on the horizon to tackle this portion of Connecticut’s trash crisis.
Food scraps are NOT trash. Food scraps can be useful when converted to compost. Those who compost at home know that not all food scraps produced in the kitchen can be composted. However, the town plan will not only include traditional food scraps, but also meat, bones, fish and shellfish, you know, all the stinky stuff.
Haddam currently pays $105/ton to have our municipal trash hauled to Materials Innovation and Recycling Authority (MIRA) Trash to Energy plant in Hartford. That plant is scheduled to close on June 30, 2022. The plan is to then send all the trash that would have been incinerated out to states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Alabama. It is predicted that our tipping(hauling) costs will skyrocket when that happens. Food scraps are heavy due to high water content so removing food waste will decrease the monthly tonnage and save the town money in the long run.
Haddam will be contracting with Hartford based Blue Earth Compost which will supply us with three food bins (to start) to be located next to the Swap Shack at the Transfer Station located at 750 Saybrook Road. Blue Earth Compost currently serves 20 CT towns including Middletown, Essex, Durham/Middlefield and Branford. This program is free to those with transfer station passes. Special passes for the Food Scrap program only , for those who have private haulers will be available in the future at the Town Office Building.
Blue Earth will come once a week and remove the food scraps, clean the bins and transport the food scraps to Quantum Biopower which is an anaerobic digestion facility located in Southington. Quantum can quickly convert the food scraps into compost and Biogas. Biogas helps to generate electricity and create natural gas and transportation fuel. Quantum is also able to contain the methane gas byproduct inside the building and not pollute the air.
The Sustainability Committee has researched and gained unanimous approval from the Board of Selectmen to initiate this program. We may need to fundraise a portion of the costs involved. Included in these costs are supplies for advertisement, a large sign for the transfer station and purchasing Starter Kits for those who want them. The Starter Kits consist of a 2-gallon counter top bin, a 6-gallon transport bin for your weekly food scraps and one roll of 25 compostable bags. Starter Kits and additional compostable bags will be for sale around town and in the Town Office Building when they become available.
What can you compost with Blue Earth? Blue Earth’s motto is “If it Grows, It Goes.” 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 used with cleaning products or wipes), cut flowers, pet food (no pet waste). All food must be void of twist ties, rubber bands, food stickers. This is not the place for regular recycling so please do not included plastic bags, wipes, hard plastic, glass or metal.
We cannot avoid the cost of removing municipal waste, bulky waste or recycling from Connecticut. It does not matter whether you use the Transfer Station or have private pick up, something has to be done. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the cost of garbage removal while doing something to benefit the environment. It may seem like a small step, but we can do great things by working together. We will only be as successful as the number of participants and the amount of food scraps we remove from the municipal waste. If you have any questions about the program or would like to volunteer, please contact us at 860-345-8531 X 207 or HaddamSustainabilityCommittee@gmail.com.
Program start date and information on fund raising will be announced soon.
