Fighting Climate Change Through Composting
Do you know where your trash goes? In Dutchess County, 77% of post-recycled trash (around 155,000 tons) gets incinerated and about 50% of that trash is organic waste.
The city of Beacon has reduced that waste through the Beacon Compost Pilot. “A lot of this material shouldn’t go in your regular traditional garbage can. It should be processed in a cleaner way that is less emissions,” said Phillip Stamatis, a member of the Conservation Advisory Committee in Beacon. “Composting brings the waste stream to people’s eyes.”
The initiative was approved in August 2021 and launched in March 2022. Members of the community can drop off their food scraps, such as fruits, vegetables, and meats at three sites around the city. They are open 24 hours and are run by a volunteer group.
The pilot also promotes residents composting in their own backyard through subsidized composting bins. The program reduced the price of 100 bins last year from $45 to $20 for residents and have ordered 100 more for this year. “We sold out of them immediately,” said Stamatis.
The success of the pilot has been evident with over 54,000 pounds of food waste collected. During Thanksgiving, the sites had more waste than they had capacity for averaging around one ton of waste per week. It has prompted Beacon to extend the program. “It showed us that there is a need for it. This drop off program caters to people who can’t or don’t want to compost in their backyard,” said Stamatis.
A main objective of the project is to make households more intentional with where food trash goes. “A lot of our residents realized after participating in the program how much food they are actually wasting and throwing away in the garbage. They are buying less and using that fresh food faster,” said Stamatis. By deterring the food scraps from the incinerator, residents reduce emissions while producing nutritious soil for a new round of food.
While the program has already expanded the bins by 33%, the program still has big goals in the future. They are looking right now at the possibility of working with local restaurants including ones on Main Street.
Right now, the compost is going to CRP sanitation and then being sold commercially. “We call it black gold because compost is such a quality product for both farmers and homeowners,” said Stamatis.
Stamatis hopes that more towns will launch pilots in the area so that the committees can share ideas and resources with one another.
For more information on how to compost and get involved go https://beaconny.gov/ or https://ccedutchess.org/
