Compost Works Initiative
Food Scraps drop-off program
Bernadette and Tom started informally collecting coffee grounds, banana peels, food scraps, and yard trimmings from some of their neighbors.
In 2018 Grow Amsterdam began to participate in community events. We collected orange peels from a vendor at Amsterdam's Italian fest, and banana peels and apple cores from joggers in the 5k "Cops and Joggers" race.
In 2019 Grow Amsterdam NY received a grant from the Pollution Prevention Institute (P2I) at RIT to formally launch the Compost Works Initiative. This led to the creation of the first community food scrap drop-off program in Amsterdam. The P2I grant funded the building of the compost system at the 78 Wall Street community garden. During the grant year we collected 3.75 tons of food scraps and used the compost to grow veggies in the community garden. A second compost site will be part of the new Kimball Community Garden at 5 Kimball in Amsterdam.
To participate in our Compost Works food scraps drop-off program, you must attend an orientation.
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During the 30-minute orientation, you will learn about the problem of food scraps in the landfill, tips on preventing food waste, how we schedule drop-off times to continue social distancing, and what is acceptable and what is not composted by Compost Works.
All compost created will benefit the Community Gardens in the City of Amsterdam, NY.
Our next virtual orientation: Saturday, April 26th at 11 am Register here to receive a link to the Zoom meeting via email. If you have any questions call us at 518-620-1802
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What Why How
What to Compost
Steps to follow for self-service
composting
