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REGISTRATION FORM QUESTIONS(Suggested) ANSWERS
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What would you like to ask our panelists?
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Why is food sold in such large packages? I am a family of ONE.This topic was not part of the webinar, but in practice, it depends where you shop. It's a business decision unique to each retailer. The recommended consumer practice is to know which foods freeze well. You'd be surprised!
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Comment on compostable containers, utensils and how they are or are not tolerated in compost operations and anaerobic digesters.Compostable containers are complicated. The most important things to know are that compostable containers must be composted in commercial facilities since backyard compost bins do not get hot enough for them to degrade and that they must be certified compostable (BPI, CMA, TUV, or OK Compost) to be accepted by commercial facilities such as Black Earth. Unfortunately, many containers presented as compostable are not certified and therefore garbage.
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How and where to begin starting on a personal/family level to address this issue.Our blog "We Are What we DON’T Eat: The Environmental Impact of Food Waste" provides numerous tips for reducing food waste at home.
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What percentage of food waste occurs at each phase from food production to composting?ReFed estimates that 17% of food waste comes from farms, 15% from manufacturing, 20% from consumer facing businesses and 48% from homes.
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Is there a plan for free collection of food waste, especially for apartment buildings?The Town has great equipment to offer apartment buildings that want to sign up with companies like Black Earth. Contact Charlotte Milan at 781-316-3108 or cmilan@town.arlington.ma.us
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How do we inspire participation in composting?Many residents do not compost because they don't know how to get started. Our 'How to get Started' blog provides step-by-step instructions. It's not as hard as it seems!
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Is loomi good?We recommend you ask Arlington community members, as the committee does not use Lomi itself.
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The state of NJ mandates reusable grocery bags for food bank deliveries such as ArlingtonEats-can we do it here?Arlington EATS has considered this and it is under evaluation. The implementation would be complex.
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Big Q, I know: Aside from BE composting (thanks, Justin!), what more can we do about waste at home?We have a ton of resources on our website - please take a look at this and other blog posts about waste reduction - https://zerowastearlington.org/2023tips/
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What can we do to amplify the importance of composting vs recycling into the mainstreamThere are many ways - we can start as individuals and our website had ideas. We can talk about it amongst our community members and local government to encourage town-wide.
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Any other questions?
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How can I buy less so it doesn't spoil without having to shop more often?We have several resources and tips in a series of blogs on our website - https://zerowastearlington.org/the-latest/
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How best to concentrate our efforts to waste less food and energy?
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How does Arlington compare with other MA municipalities in composting participation?
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I worry that some of the produce in Arlington Eats home delivery ends up in the trash, what can we do?Arlington EATS has refined their home delivery startegy over the past few years to avoid as much waste as possible.
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QUESTIONS DURING WEBINAR
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I am amazed that you have an open compost site in Manchester-by-the-Sea! How did that happen? Good to hear about the later versions which are more enclosed.
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There is a Feed Fido box on Teele St next to Waldo Park which is not advertised on the town’s website. Are there any restrictions on that box?That bin is intended for neighborhood use, so we don't advertsie it widely. The other twi FiDO bins are located at 51 Grove St (DPW) and 422 Summer St (Rec skating rink). Yes there are limitations, we ask all users to read our user agreement and register to use any of the locations- I'll grab the link...
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So if I live not far from Teele St., (Milton St.) and it’s easier and closer to drop off my foodwaste there, can I do that?Yes! But please register on our website and be sure to only add vegetarian food scraps.
https://www.arlingtonma.gov/departments/public-works/recycling-trash-composting/food-scrap-diversion
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Of course I only put approved food waste into the bin. I am registered for Grove St. Do I have to register separately for Teele St?No, you can use the closer location. I really appreciate you checking on about it! I don't rally have a sense of how many people are using the containers without registering, so I make a habit of reminding people to register. Last time I looked we've had 850+ residents register to use the program, but I have to imagine even more folks are using it!
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Does anyone have any recommendations to introduce or implement a model similar to FiDo in Somerville? It seems bizarre that Cambridge, Boston, and Arlington have various food waste reduction strategies, but Somerville does not have a similar model, aside from composting in schools.Somerville, like all of us, are also focussed on reducing pests in our urban areas. I believe Somerville only allows backyard composting in raised containers in order to protect against pest access. We find that our FiDO bins do a GREAT job resisting pests, so perhaps Somerville could consider this kind of program in the future.
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PRoblems with compostable containers, utensils?
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Chat during webinar
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We have great equipment to offer apartment buildings that want to sign up with companies like Black Earth. Contact me at 781-316-3108 or cmilan@town.arlington.ma.us
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I estimate that Arlington has between 2-3,000 households participating with food scrap diversion now!
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rash tipping fees are $74 now and go up every year
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QUESTIONS FROM AFTER EVENT SURVEY
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How to put less of everything in the garbage to reduce all types of solid wasteWe have several resources and tips in a series of blogs on our website - https://zerowastearlington.org/the-latest/
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How do we get more folks to donate used goods rather instead of putting in the curb for trash?We at ZWA are doing our best to educate residents on waste reduction through forums like these and other ways to connect with people but often legislation can go a long way for e.g. the waste bans encourage people to ask questions and build awareness about the issue. See our Waste Ban webinar - https://zerowastearlington.org/our-work/earth-to-arlington-series/
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