Media Borough Food Compost Bucket
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Media Borough Food Compost Pilot Program

The Borough has launched a pilot program to gauge the feasibility of adding food scrap collection to our current recycling efforts.  A food scrap collection program would allow residents to separate food from the rest of their household waste for collection and composting at a local compost farm.

Media Borough currently has a high rate of recycling participation (estimated at 70%) because our community recognizes that natural resources are limited and that we need to “reduce, reuse and recycle” to ensure that our world can adequately sustain future generations.  Our current recycling and yard waste programs divert close to 30% of residential solid waste from the incinerator and land fill.  Adding a food scrap collection program could reduce residential waste by another 30%.

Why is composting important?  Not only does it reduce household waste, it also…

  • Reduces greenhouse gases.   Composting keeps food scraps out of the incinerator, decreasing pollution and the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas 310 times more powerful in atmospheric warming than carbon dioxide.
  • Reduces energy consumption.   The composting process requires fewer work-hours than incineration and no fuel deliveries, further lowering greenhouse gases.
  • Turns food waste into a valuable resource.  When we compost food waste we create nutrient-rich fertilizer used by local farmers and gardeners.   Instead of sending food waste to be burned in the solid waste incinerator, composting recycles nutrients and fiber back into the soil where it can support the growth of fresh new food for our tables.

The Pilot Program:

The Pilot Program will start at the end of May and last for a year, serving 100 Media Borough residents.  The Pilot got a boost from a $7,500 Technical Assistance Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, which enabled us to work with SCS Engineering on a Food Scrap Collection feasibility study.  The study focused on small communities in Pennsylvania and other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas who had successfully implemented such programs, and it provided recommendations based on their experiences to  Media Borough’s Pilot Program.

A few openings remain in the pilot program.  If you would like to participate, visit the borough website for more information (Click Here).