Since the Emmet County Recycling program started its food waste reduction program, a total of 5,592 pounds were collected at local farmers markets.
The county program distributed food waste caddies throughout the summer and encouraged individuals to consider different ways to help cut down on how much food ended up in the waste stream.
Kate Melby, spokeswoman for the Emmet County Recycling program, said 556 caddies were given away to encourage people to start composting. They also provided composting bins for sale to use at home.
“It’s going really well,” Melby said. “We’re quite impressed at how many people want to drop off food scraps at the farmers market.”
With outdoor farmers markets coming to a close for the season, Emmet County Recycling will continue to offer food scrap drop-off at the indoor farmers market at the Crooked Tree Arts Center on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at the Pleasantview Drop-off Center in Harbor Springs Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Melby added that there are plans to offer a Harbor Springs Winter Market drop-off spot, but details have not yet been finalized.
More than Composting
But the program also encouraged people to try and reduce waste, by being conscience about when food actually goes bad, compared to the “best-by” dates printed on boxes and packages, and reducing the amount of food material that ends up in the trash.
The county conducted a follow-up survey with participants and received 72 responses. The survey found that the most valuable information participants received from the survey was how to store fruits and vegetables so they last longer.
Melby said that about half of respondents for the survey stated that they were composting at home. She said that points to a larger success for the program, beyond removing more than 5,000 pounds of food from the waste stream, that’s hard to quantify since it happens at homes throughout Emmet County.
The county still has a number of composting caddies available at their office in the Emmet County Courthouse Building in Petoskey.
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