Mark your calendars. Food scraps recycling returns next week!

From June 14, 2022 until September 27, 2022 on Tuesday evenings, you will be able to drop off certain food scraps at two neighborhood farmer’s markets.

Where are the food scraps drop-off locations?

What food scraps are acceptable for dropping off? In order for this program to be a success, you must bring the correct food scraps.

You will be allowed to bring food scraps that would be acceptable for backyard composting.

Attendants at the booth will also be able to answer questions about what is acceptable in the food scraps drop-off program.

What food scraps are banned from this market drop-off program? While these items may be compostable in other systems, they are not acceptable in the small-scale farm composting operation that will be receiving food scraps collected at the markets.

Other material like metal, glass, and plastic are not accepted as they cannot be composted.

Why can we drop off food scraps for recycling again? What changed? The City of Madison received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture for community composting and food waste reduction. The Natural Resource Defense Council also provided additional funding through their Food Matters initiative.

Using those funds, we were able to secure help from Sustain Dane to provide assistance in staffing the food scraps drop-off sites to help control contamination and provide additional materials necessary for the drop-off site to be a success.

The food scraps will be taken to the Neighborhood Food Solutions urban farm for composting to help their soil regeneration efforts and also supporting their mission and programs.

Additional Details For more information about food scraps, including prevention strategies and ways to donate to food pantries, please go to the Streets Division’s food scraps website, www.cityofmadison.com/FoodScraps.  

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