Food Drive at Westborough’s Transfer Station

 Westborough – On Saturday, Nov 14th, residents of the town brought food donations to E.L. Harvey and Sons Waste and Recycling Center, and received a compost bin from Zero Waste Westborough. This new program is a sub-group of the Westborough’s Waste Management Task Force which started in May, and recycles food waste and converts it into reusable energy. Team member Nathan Askew said, “It costs more to throw away trash than to compost, and takes 2 years for backyard compost to breakdown versus 6 months of professional processing. This procedure could eventually be used for fertilizer, and 91% of fossil fuel could be restored by recycling food waste. Down the road, we would like to incorporate a curbside pickup program.” 

Lauren Buerstatte and Katie-Curtin-Mestre, both members of the Task Force assisted in taking the food donations and distributing flyers about the Zero Waste initiative. These members’ educated residents about what the recycling program is all about, and how it could benefit the community. One thing to note when bringing food waste to the transfer station is to make sure the items are transported in reusable containers or brown paper grocery bags. The scraps cannot be brought in bio bags since the bags are not broken down by the company that is handling the refuse. 

The acceptable items for compost are: raw or cooked seafood and meat, cooking oil, candies, coffee grounds, soups, stews, yogurt, vegetables, produce (raw or cooked), pasta, bread, grains and cereals. The non-acceptable items would be: dead animals, cigarettes, dog and cat waste, cat litter, milk and juice cartons, textiles, paper products, plastic, metal, glass, plastic bags including compostable bio bags, branches, brush, grass clippings – bring to transfer station at a different location. 

For more information about Zero Waste Westborough and how the food waste gets composted, and when it leaves the station, please check out the website at: https://lu.ma/westborough-composts. A webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17th at 7:00 p.m.