Reduce Food WasteHome CompostingCommercial Food Waste ICAW 2024

40% of food in the United States goes to waste! The waste

• begins on farms
• continues in transport and processing of food, and
• peaks at retail and restaurant facilities
• but it doesn’t stop there…

Americans waste the equivalent of one of every four bags of groceries they bring home. Fortunately, there are lots of easy, money-saving ways to:

• recycle food scraps with Emmet County Recycling.
• recycle food scraps at home
• reclaim or redirect food that might otherwise go to waste and/or
• reduce your food waste

To make it easy to get started, we have developed the following (with support from the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation):

• 24 great tips for reducing your food waste at home. See our “Hack Your Food! Save Food Save Money” page.
• Sale of tools for food waste recycling including compost bins and,
• Food scrap drop-off carts at our Pleasantview Drop-off Center (Monday-Saturday) and farmers markets.

Of course, to “close the loop” and benefits gardens, compost is available for sale bagged and in bulk at the Pleasantview Road Drop-off Center.

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Tools for Managing Food Waste at Home

Home Composting Bins at Wholesale Prices

For information on the bins we have available at the Pleasantview Drop-off Center, click here.

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Drop-off Food Scraps for Composting

WHAT:

• Fruits & vegetables
• Meat, fish, & bones
• Milk & cheese
• Pasta, bread, & rice
• Beans
• Nuts and nut shells
• Paper napkins & paper plates
• Greasy paper bags and pizza box liners

But NO:

• Plastic items unless they are specifically labelled “BPI certified compostable”
• No twist ties
• No stickers or labels
• No wrappers
• No frilled toothpicks

WHERE:

Pleasantview Drop-off Center

• All Year Round
• Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00
• Saturday 8:00-3:00

2024 Farmers Markets

• Harbor Springs Farmers Market:
  • May 25 - October 19
  • Wednesday & Saturday
  • 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
  • Facebook
  • Call 231-881-1863
• Petoskey Farmers Market
  • May 24 - September 27
  • Fridays
  • 8:30 am - 1:00 pm
  • Petoskeychamber.com
  • Facebook
  • Call 231-347-4150

Compost for Sale!

Close the loop: give your plants some of the compost produced from area food scraps! Visit our compost page for all the details!

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Recycle Cooking Oil and Fats

WHAT:

• Cooking oil
• Fat, including raw trimmings
• Grease from cooking

But NO:

Motor oil, lubricating greases

HOW:

FREE!

1. Collect your fats, oil and greases in an unbreakable container with a lid
2. Once the container is full, bring it to the Drop-off Center
3. Empty the contents into the black cooking oil recycling bin
4. Take the container home to reuse, or recycle it

WHERE:

Cooking oil and grease are accepted at the Pleasantview Drop-off Center in the black bin near the drop site and food scraps.