- Food waste makes up 11 percent of Leon County's waste stream, and while it can decompose naturally through composting, when it is sent to landfills it becomes buried and does not decompose.
- Leon County has created ways for your food waste to be composted rather than sent to landfills. They encourage you to drop off food waste at 7550 Apalachee Parkway, including fruit and vegetable scraps, egg shells, and napkins, but do not accept food cooked in oil, dairy, or meat.
- The University of Florida IFAS Leon County Extension Office provides composting workshops, the next one being Thursday, February 1, 2024 from 6-7:30pm. If you're interested in participating, sign up at this link or email Molly Jameson at mjameson@ufl.edu. Backyard Composting 101 Tickets, Thu, Feb 1, 2024 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite
- Watch the video to see how you can help.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
In Leon County, an estimated 30,000 tons of food is sent to landfills each year. That equates to nearly 200 pounds of food per person! I’m First To Know Meteorologist Riley Winch from the solid waste management facility in Southeast Tallahassee with the initiatives created by the county to get you to help compost food waste, rather than trashing it.
When food waste is trashed and sent to the landfill, it becomes buried and cannot decompose as it would in nature. Maggie Theriot, Director of the Office of Resource Stewardship, explains the one key component food waste misses when sent to landfills.
“The food waste, when it is going to a landfill, is in an oxygen-free area and you can’t break things down. You don’t have the bacteria and the fungus, and the oxygen needed.”
Leon County’s composting initiative is making it easier for the community to compost food waste to reduce the amount of trash making its way into our local landfills.
Leon County has created a compost drop-off site at 7550 Apalachee Parkway, where residents can drop off food waste. They accept expired produce, egg shells, and paper napkins among other things, but cannot accept meat, dairy, or food cooked in oil. Right now, 11% of Leon County’s waste stream is made up of food waste.
“The more that we can reduce the waste of any family or individual in our community including that food waste, the less trucks on the road, the less environmental impact.”
But what exactly is composting? Molly Jameson of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Leon County Extension Office explains that “compost is basically any organic material that decomposes. It can be any carbon based, nitrogen based materials so we’re talking food scraps, any type of fruit and vegetable scraps.”
And compost can be used to help fertilize soil and help plants grow. “One cool thing about if you’re composting you can basically create your own nutrients, your own fertilizer to put back in the soil to have nice healthy plants that you can eat.”
If you’re interested in composting, there are ways you can get involved! The UF extension office offers composting workshops.
