HYANNIS – In an effort to lower costs, Barnstable has started a new Food Waste Collection/Composting program at the Marstons Mills Transfer Station and Recycling Center.
The goal of the program is to cut down on the amount of food waste that gets thrown away with trash, which would reduce disposal costs for transfer station customers.
“Residents can bring in certain types of food waste and dispose of them into a shed with a toter inside, and that will be turned into compost from a contractor that will be picking it up for us,” said P.J. Kelliher, the Department of Public Works Solid Waste Division supervisor.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, about 25 percent of household trash is food waste.
Most kitchen scraps will be able to be composted, including meat and bones, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, grease drippings and egg shells.
Items not allowed in the compost totes include diseased plants, kitty litter, glass, plastics, metals, cardboard, Styrofoam, rubber bands, aluminum foil and walnut shells, which can be toxic to some plants and animals.
“The big picture goal is to cut down on the amount of rubbish or trash that we have at the facility because that is one of our number one costs for operating the transfer station,” Kelliher said.
Kelliher recommends separating the compost scraps into a bucket with a lid or plastic bags to bring to the transfer station.
“They can bring it in to the facility and right into the shed that we have on our recycling line and dispose of it,” Kelliher said. “If they bring it in a plastic bag we have a trash barrel in the shed where they can throw the bag out, or if they have their own container they can empty it and put the container back in their vehicle and take it with them.”
The transfer station was able to begin the program without having to reconfigure the facility.
“We added another shed right on the end of the recycling line for the food waste,” Kelliher said. “So if people come in and they get down the recycle line, the very last shed is where our food waste shed is.”
Watts Family Farms has partnered with the town to pick up the waste every week and turn it into high-quality compost at its Forestdale facility.
The program is being funded, in part, through a grant from MassDEP.
Kelliher said transfer stations composting kitchen waste seems to be a trend being pushed.
“It’s a great idea. It’s an easy way to get trash out of this waste stream and to lower the cost of disposing the trash on our end,” Kelliher said. “It also creates another way to make compost for people. A lot of people do it at home already. Some people don’t have the area to do it, but it’s a good way to help out with other composting operations.”
Signs are posted in the facility to let residents know what items are accepted in the compost tote and which are not.
Anyone with questions can call the transfer station at 508-420-2258.
The transfer station is open seven days a week.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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