The City of Buffalo is making steps towards becoming more of a sustainable place to live, by providing residents with options to recycle their food scraps. Most of us are aware of how much food waste occurs in the US – about a pound of food per person is thrown out each day. But most people purchase the amount of food that they think they will use, only to see some of it go bad in a week’s time. It’s not easy to be a zero-waste family when it comes to food purchases, no matter how hard people try to prolong expiration dates and upcycle expiring items for soups, for example.
Until now, households have been at a loss when it comes to combatting food waste, other than trying to purchase exactly how much a family plans on consuming (close to impossible), being resolute in their plans to cook the exact number of meals a week (assuming that plans never change), and even experimenting with home composting. While intentions might be good, nobody is perfect, and home composting just hasn’t caught on in a high percentage of US households. But studies show that if composting was made easier, and it was free, more people would be willing to give it a shot.
Thankfully, Mayor Brown has announced that there is a Residential Food Scrap Collection Drop-Off Program underway, where people can drop off compostable foods such as egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetables, and fruit scraps to five different locations throughout the city.
The graphic below points out the various drop-off locations, as well as the times allowed for drop-offs. The sites are South Buffalo Farmers Market, Massachusetts Avenue Project Farmstand, North Buffalo Farmers Market, Broadway Market, and the Downtown Country Farmers Market. For more information, visit www.buffalorecycles.org. The program is part of the City’s 34 and More recycling effort.
Lead image: jdurham