New program works to keep food waste out of the landfill
Food waste has a big impact on our environment, which is why the city of Boise is working to reduce the amount of food that makes it to our landfills.
Broadcast on:
07 Oct 2024
Audio Format:
other
( Boise City)
Many Boise homeowners have three trash cans: a gray one for trash, a blue one for recycling and a green one for compost.
The compost program started in 2017 and has been very successful, turning one-third of the waste that used to go into the landfill into compost. Now, Boise is expanding that program for people who live in apartments and condos who might not have the green compost cart.
Lisa Knapp, who runs Boise's compost program, and Catherine Milner, who runs the reduce and reuse programs, joined Idaho Matters to talk more.
[MUSIC PLAYING] More Idaho matters right now from the studios of Boise State Public Radio News. I'm Gemma Gaudet. Many Boise homeowners have three trash cans. You have a gray one for trash, a blue one for recycling, and then a green one for compost. The compost program started back in 2017 and has been really successful, turning one third of the waste that used to go into the landfill into compost. Well, now Boise is expanding that program for people who live in apartments and condos, who might not have the familiar green compost cart. So here to talk to us more about this is Lisa Knapp. She runs the Boise's compost program. And Catherine Milner, who runs the reduce and reuse programs, welcome to the show. Thanks for having us, Gemma. We're excited to be here. Yeah, thank you, Gemma. So can one of you talk about why it's important for Boise to start this new program? I mean, I'm assuming there's just an arise the number of people living in apartments. Yeah, that's true. So one of the most important things we looked at when deciding to get this pilot program running is just looking at the climate impact of our food waste. There's been more and more research in the last few years. And as we spend more food waste to our landfills, it generates methane, which is a very potent greenhouse gas. And when we find ways to compost that food waste, instead of landfilling it, we can really increase our impact and take climate action. So you did an analysis of what goes into the landfill from apartments. As you mentioned about the food waste, my understanding is that it's about 25% food waste? Yes, that's correct. The city of Boise conducted a waste stream analysis in 2021. This is essentially a survey where we categorize the types of waste that are going into the landfill from different sectors. So when we took a look at the multifamily sector, those are folks who live in apartments, condos, townhomes, any sort of housing residents with four or more units. When we looked at the types of trash that they are putting into their trash bins, we found that about a quarter of that by weight consisted of food. So can one of you talk about how this new program works then? Because you have to drop off your food scraps at designated sites. Is that correct? That is correct, yes. Multifamily residents can sign up to participate in this free pilot program at kerb@boysy.org. And from there, they can read about the types of materials that are accepted in this pilot program. It's essentially your kitchen scraps-- fruit and veggie scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds from my family, in particular, and you can also find on the website the sites, locations, and maps with addresses of where our two drop-off sites are. One is located at Fort Boise Park, and the other is located at Comba Park, where Boise Urban Garden School is located. So folks can register to get a code to unlock the sites. And from there, when they are able to drop off their food scraps, they can go to one of those two sites and drop it off at their convenience. So you mentioned that the sites are locked, and they have to get an access code. Why did you decide to set it up that way? That's a great question. We really wanted to get some good data for our program. We wanted to be able to collect a little bit of demographic information. So when people register to get the code, we are going to be asking for things like their zip code, the number of people who are living in their household. And that's how we can figure out who will be using the program so that we can build the most accessible and effective program for our multifamily residents. - So you mentioned the things that can go into the drop-off sites. I'm assuming there are things that cannot go into these bins. Can you tell us about that? - Yeah, sure. So unlike our residential compost program, which is available to single family and duplex homes here in Boise, where people typically have yards and gardens and a lot of other green waste like that, this program is specifically and only for food waste. So each of those sites has two carts, two of the same size carts you see at your home. So we just don't have the capacity to be taking leaves and yard waste through this program. - So I want to talk about the compost itself. So what happens to compost after it gets dropped off? - Yeah, so compost that's picked up through our city of Boise programs, goes out to our compost facility. It's located about 20 miles south of Boise at 20 miles south farm. And there we process it into compost. From there, we really prioritize getting that material back into our valley soils. So we give as much of the compost as we can back to participants in these programs for them to use in their own yards and their lawns. And then we also use a lot of our compost in our city parks, which is a benefit to everyone. It can help reduce the need for chemical fertilizers and really helps to make our soils healthier. - Well, I have to tell you, my husband loves your compost program. Every time we mose the lawn, he fills that compost bin up and he gets quite excited about it. But with that said, let's say you're someone who wants that free compost, how does that work? I mean, do you have to sign up to be a part of that program? - Yeah, so currently we have to give back sites to call them, but there's one at the Idaho Botanical Garden and there's one that's down off of Joplin Road, close to the Watershed Education Center. And we keep those stocked with compost. So you can take your car down there as long as you're a city of Boise residents and you can fill up a pickup truck or if you have a smaller vehicle, you can use a five gallon bucket and take as much compost as you need. We allow people to take up to about two cubic yards per year, which is about two pickup trucks. So it's quite a bit of material. - So you're also about to open your yearly drop off sites for leaf bags and this'll happen, right? And this'll happen in several parks around the city. So can you talk about how that will work as well? - Yeah, sure. So if you have a house with compost service, we do have leaf service available year round, but in the fall of first things get really busy. So a good reminder, you can put up to 10 leaf bags out every single week and please put out your compost cart with them. The drivers really need that cart so that they can get the leaf bag into the truck itself. But yeah, if you have more leaves than that, if you live in, you're fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood with great big trees. We do have drop off sites. They will be open as of next Tuesday through mid December. And they're located at Elm Grove Park, Casha Park, Kristen Armstrong Municipal Park. There's one at the Willow Lane Sports Complex and Bora Park and then also at Fairmont Park. So kind of disperse all around the city and you can drive back leaf bags or you can bring loose leaves and put them in those roll off containers there. - So before I let both of you go, how important is it that folks compost that they use these programs? I mean, what does it mean for the city itself? And frankly, for the landfill? - Yeah, you know, I mean, I think composting is one of those, it really is something where we can take individual climate action. You know, if you compost five pounds of food waste, you have the same greenhouse gas equivalency reduction as burning one less gallon of gasoline. So when you think about things that we can do as individuals, it's a lot easier to just put five pounds of your food waste in your compost cart or to drive it to a drop off site than it is to try to reduce our driving by, you know, 20 or 25 miles depending on your vehicle. So it's nice to have this available for people. I think the other really important point is that we're trying to make Boise a city that is for everyone and we think that everyone should have equal access to programs where they can recycle and choose to do the right thing for the environment. - Well, I wanna say both of you, oh, yes, go ahead. Sorry, I'll break up. - Oh, I was just going to make one more point that it also will save folks money. So the EPA estimates that the average family of four actually throws out about $1,500 worth of food every year. So I think that this is also a great way for folks to save money while they're also making a big climate action. - Well, such great points from both of you about the importance of this. And I really thank you for coming in today and chatting with us. We've been talking with Lisa Knapp, who runs Boise's compost program and Katherine Milner, who runs the reduce and reuse programs about the city's new food waste collection program. - That is happening for apartments as well as talking about the compost program. Thanks so much for listening to Idaho Matters. Boise State Public Radio and Idaho Matters are members of the NPR Network. It's an independent coalition of public media podcasters. You can find more shows in the network wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jamak Adet, we'll see you tomorrow. - The candidates for November are set. - I know Donald Trump's tight. - Between now and election day. - We are not going back. 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