Woodbury residents can now do their part to make the future cleaner and greener by participating in a curbside Food Scraps Pickup Program.
Beyond Woodbury, the free program is available in several towns in Ramsey and Washington counties. On Oct. 1, expansion will reach 19 more communities in Washington County.
Sam Holl, facility manager of the county’s R&E Center in Newport, said the facility processes over 400,000 tons of trash every year, with an estimated twenty percent of the waste falling into the food scraps category. The program helps reduce the amount of garbage sent to landfills by using high-tech robots that can pick through tons of trash to identify the specialized bags that contain food scraps.
Once identified and sorted, food scraps are sent to the SMSC Organics Recycling Facility, which is operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Shakopee. The facility turns the scraps into nutrient-rich compost and mulch, keeping the food out of landfills, helping to stem the emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Andrea McKennan, program supervisor, notes that another benefit of the program is that it has created several jobs.
To participate, residents only need the specialized bag, provided for free, which can be placed in residential trash cans for pickup on their normal garbage day.
Food Scraps Pickup Program Supervisor Annalee Garletz emphasizes the importance of participating. “This is an amazing opportunity,” she said. “It’s really important to keep participating and engaging. This is a behavior change, a change of lifestyle habits.”
One of the most common questions asked is whether the bags are actually being sorted, and if they are making it to the facility. Garletz offers assurances that they are. “You can see the robots are continually learning. We’re teaching them as with AI networks,” she said. “We’re teaching them to recognize the bags and to continue to improve over time.”
Tours of the site are available and groups of all sizes are invited to see how the facility operates and how the food scraps are sorted and salvaged.
