I have no need to start a compost pile at my home, as neither my husband nor I have any green thumbs. But it has concerned me for some time the amount of compostable material we put in our trash. So I decided to look for a middle-ground solution. As it turns out, New York State has several free food scraps drop-off locations:
https://www.nysar3.org/page/nys-food-scraps-drop-off--collection-programs-178.html
After reviewing that map, the most convenient location for us was the Amherst Highway Department. I called them just to make sure they were still accepting scraps, and a friendly person confirmed they were. Scraps can be dropped off here any weekday between 7:30am and 3:30pm. (FYI: There are several other WNY locations on that map, if you are interested in seeing which is most convenient for you.)
Next we invested in a kitchen compost bin, which I found on Amazon for about $25 on sale. It hangs off of our kitchen cupboard near where I do most of my chopping. It is a great affordable model that holds more than I expected. Installation was 30 seconds, it hangs secure, and absolutely no smells seep out:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089WGNML5?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_QQR7A1CY8MFPG150AR6V
Then we started filling the bin! For a family of four who eats a good amount of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs, we filled our at-home bin with scraps in about a week and a half, or so. So then it was time to bring our first haul to the community compost bins!
When arriving at Amherst Highway Department, you can only go right, as straight is marked restricted. It is a large parking lot and facility. I circled a few times because the compost bins were not obviously marked. I was about to park and go in to ask where to go, but a friendly worker flagged me down to ask if I needed help, and kindly pointed me to the bins.
To find them, when you arrive go right, and look for the electronics recycling shed on the right. It is a white shed with a bunch of defunct electronics inside. Just to the right of the shed are blue bins with yellow tops. Those are the compost bins. Simply dump your scraps in any of those bins, with the pile of other scraps already there. My bag itself was compostable, but I didn't see any other bags in the bins. And I didn't see a garbage can for disposal of my scraps bag, so I just brought it with me to dispose of elsewhere.
If you're not familiar with composting, here is the gist of what scraps you can and cannot add to the bins:
CAN COMPOST:
* Fruits and vegetables (scraps and spoiled)
* Coffee grounds
* Egg shells
* Indoor plant trimmings
CANNOT COMPOST:
* NO meat, fish, poultry, bones, or fatty foods like oils
* NO dairy products
* NO cat litter or dog feces
* NO plants that spread through stems or roots (like ivy or grass)
Before bringing our first scraps, I weighed it ... so far we've saved six pounds of scraps waste from going into a landfill! Instead it's now going right back into Mother Earth! If you too create a lot of fresh food waste and do not want to set up your own compost bin at home, I highly recommend considering bringing your scraps to a community compost site. I'm very grateful for the Amherst Highway Department and other sites for doing this, and wish I would have been contributing to these bins sooner. But you've got to start somewhere! Happy composting to all! :-D read more