Hundreds gathered at the Bethesda Central Farmers Market on April 13 to celebrate Food Waste Prevention Week, hosted by the county’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The event showcased the county’s Food Scraps Recycling Drop-Off Program and encouraged locals to turn their leftovers into something greener.
The idea? Make it easy and even enjoyable for people to compost their food scraps while shopping for their weekly groceries.
“This is the cleanest, easiest way to deal with food scraps,” said Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich. “You can feel good about what you’re doing but it helps the environment and it helps the county achieve its zero waste goal. I think it’s good on so many levels.”
The Food Scraps Recycling Drop-Off Program is part of the county’s ambitious plan to move toward zero waste, aiming to lead by example for the state and the nation.
That means rethinking what goes in the trash and eventually closing the county’s waste incinerator.
“We are working to make it easier and more convenient for residents and businesses in the county to recycle their food scraps,” said Eileen Kao, DEP’s waste reduction and recycling chief.
And that convenience comes with options. DEP currently offers four food scrap drop-off locations at farmers markets throughout the county Bethesda, Silver Spring, Olney and Derwood.
“Currently we have four drop-off locations in the county, we happen to locate them in farmer’s markets,” said Kao. “We have this type of drop-off in Silver Spring, Olney, and also in Derwood.”
Even better, many of these market locations such as Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Olney stay open year-round.
“We purposely have chosen these locations to make it easy and convenient and as accessible to as many residents of single family homes and multifamily apartments and condos as possible and these locations have open weekend hours,” Kao said.
From coffee grounds and eggshells to leftover lasagna, cheese rinds, and even fish bones,most kitchen scraps, including fruit, veggies, dairy, and meat, are welcome at the county’s compost drop-off bins.
Bethesda resident Charlie Richmond, a fan of the program, summed it up best.
“We’d love not throwing it in the trash. We also aren’t really prepared to do it in our backyard. The idea of having individual trucks running around the county to pick my little bucket didn’t make a lot of sense. We are coming to shop anyway so this is great.”
Food Scraps Recycling Drop-Offs operate during the same times as the farmers markets. Food scraps can be dropped off year-round at these three farmers markets:
- Bethesda Central Farmers Market. Sundays, 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 7600 Arlington Road, Bethesda.
- Downtown Silver Spring Market. Saturdays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. 1 Veterans Plaza, Silver Spring.
- Olney Farmers and Artists Market. Sundays, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Maryland Route 108 and Prince Philip Drive, Olney.
Visit the website for farmers markets updates and changes.
Photo courtesy Montgomery County DEP.
