Food Scraps Pickup Program expands in Washington, Ramsey counties
A new way to recycle food scraps into compost from home might be coming to a city near you. (FOX 9)
RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A new way to recycle food scraps into compost from home might be coming to a city near you.
According to an announcement, Washington and Ramsey counties' Food Scraps Pickup Program will now be available to all residents of Grey Cloud Island Township, Landfall, Oakdale, St. Paul Park and Woodbury. The program has been available to residents of Cottage Grove, Maplewood, Newport and North St. Paul since October 2023.
"We are thrilled to be offering this important and impactful service to 78,709 households, with 42,056 of those households newly receiving the program on the first of April," said Annalee Garletz, Food Scraps Pickup Program supervisor, in a statement. "Participants have been excited about the convenience of at-home food scrap recycling that saves them time and money while making a positive environmental impact."
According to its site, food scraps make up about 20% of trash by weight collected in Ramsey and Washington counties.
As a result, the Food Scraps Pickup Program turns collected food scraps back into soil, rather than waste by providing bags that are designed specifically to be separated from trash that are brought to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center in Newport. All food items are accepted, including pet food.
Improvements at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center are funded by a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Ramsey and Washington counties also fund parts of the program through the County Environmental Charge that each county collects via a service charge that is included in each resident’s waste collection bill.
According to the announcement, the program is a significant step forward in the counties’ progress toward Minnesota’s 75% recycling goal for metro counties and climate initiatives.