By Kathy Magnuson
In Ramsey County, 20 percent of our trash is food scraps.
There’s a better option to manage this waste and keep it out of landfills. Even if you don’t have a backyard compost bin, you can collect your food scraps for large-scale composting at an industrial facility.
The final product is used in gardens, landscaping and construction projects. It can help soil retain water and nutrients, support more living organisms and control erosion and stormwater runoff. Get started today!
Still: Why would anyone want to collect rotten food in their home?
Some people say yuck to that.
But many St. Anthony Park neighbors find it both easy and tidy. I asked a few of them about it.
Mary Yee said, “Every yard I’ve ever lived in had terrible soil, so creating plenty of compost to incorporate into the gardens was a must…. [I] have grown up in the same household as my grandparents — I learned from them not to waste anything. Now, in addition to home composting of leaves and garden debris, I take our food scraps to one of the county collection sites. All this has become second nature.”
Many neighbors said they want to reduce the amount of trash going to landfills and create a final product to nourish our gardens.
“Our reasons for composting: 95% is motivated by our interest in reducing our carbon footprint (and creating) less for trash collection or recycling to haul away,” said Debbie Smith. “Five percent is our interest in feeding hungry wildlife who live in our ravine.”
“It only makes sense to take fruit and vegetable waste… and recycle them back into the earth,” wrote Rebekah Richards.
Steve Townley noted, “I generally get 10 to 15 buckets of composted soil each spring (from the county compost site) and work it into my existing soil to kick-start my garden. Last year we got over 3,000 cherry tomatoes from three plants, so I know it works!”
There are many ways to collect the food scraps. Marilyn Benson said she has “a stainless steel container, a bit larger than a gallon in size, that lives under the kitchen sink and gets emptied (into a backyard bin) most days.”
Other people, like Pat McKay, keep an ice cream bucket with a compostable bag in the freezer. Because the food scraps are frozen, there’s no odor.
If you can compost in your backyard, great: there are plenty of resources.
But many people simply deliver their scraps to a Ramsey County Food Scraps Collection Site. There’s one in Como Park and one in Falcon Heights, open 24 hours year-round, with free compostable bags on site. For more details, check out the sidebar “Behind the Scenes.”
From these collection sites, the scraps are brought to industrial composting facilities, where the process is completed in six months. Finished compost is made available to the public at the county’s municipal yard waste sites.
On Oct. 1, join neighbors to visit one of those large-scale sites and see how it’s done. Consider joining a Nov. 6 tour of the Ramsey County Environmental Center, too. See sidebar for details.
Kathy Magnuson lives in St. Anthony Park and loves compost. She is a former Bugle staff member and co-published the Minnesota Women’s Press.
Photo cutline: Aerial view of the Specialized Environmental Technologies composting site in Minnetrista. Submitted photo by Specialized Environmental Technologies.
Behind the Scenes
Group tour: Specialized Environmental Technologies
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 9:30 a.m., 4250 Creek View Circle, Minnetrista
See how Ramsey County’s food and yard waste is transformed to support environmental health in our community. Join neighbors for a 2.5-hour tour of one of the largest processors of residential food and yard waste in the Midwest.
Wear sturdy shoes — gravel and possibly mud underfoot.
Free. Limit 25 people.
Group tour: Ramsey County Environmental Center
Thursday, Nov. 6, 1 p.m., 1700 Kent St., Roseville
Visit this new facility where residents can drop off household hazardous waste, electronics, recycling, food scraps, scrap metal, plastic bags and plastic film — all in one stop. (If you’re driving, bring items along!)
We’ll see the Product Reuse Room, where free leftover products are available first come, first served: paint, automotive fluids, household cleaners, camp stove fuel and more. Free. Must be 18 or older.
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To register for either tour, contact [email protected] or [email protected]. Please indicate if you can drive for a carpool or if you need a ride.