Park City Community Foundation announced the rollout of a new curbside food waste collection program as the first phase of its Zero Food Waste initiative. Working together with local government, nonprofits, businesses, and donors, the Community Foundation鈥檚 Climate Fund has created and financed the Zero Food Waste initiative after announcing the Zero Food Waste 2030 goal last year. This community-led movement will reduce and divert all food waste out of the Summit County landfill by 2030 to curb methane release and create a healthier community.
Food waste is a major contributor to climate change. When food is thrown into landfills, it creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide. Joel Zarrow, President and CEO of Park City Community Foundation, explains, 鈥淓liminating food waste from our landfill is a tangible way to curb climate impact and protect local water sources. It also makes financial sense. Putting food waste where it belongs is a simple action that has big, rippling benefits.鈥�
Park City Community Foundation has partnered with Momentum Recycling to provide the new curbside food waste collection service. It is currently available to anyone living in the 84060 and 84098 zip codes 鈥� with a staged plan to expand into other areas of Summit County. The phased approach will add restaurants, businesses, schools, all municipal areas of the county, and even visitors by 2030.
Residents can sign up now for weekly food waste pickup that will begin in early July. Park City Community Foundation鈥檚 Climate Fund is incentivizing the first 1,000 households by eliminating all start-up fees and providing the first month of service for free. The incentive program also has been generously sponsored by Park City Mountain, supported through Vail Resorts EpicPromise. The ongoing cost is $19.50/month for a 5-gallon bin, or $27/month for a 16-gallon bin.
The Summit County Landfill, located above Rockport Reservoir, has nearly reached its operational capacity. Roughly 80% of the solid waste going to Summit County landfill could be diverted, with 40-60% of that being food waste. 鈥淐urrently trash and food waste are being put in the adjacent, older disposal area,鈥� said Tim Loveday, Solid Waste Superintendent at Summit County. 鈥淎 new landfill cell will need to be built to accommodate trash at a price of $3-3.5 million in the coming years, with a projected lifespan of 17 years before additional cells are needed. But if we divert all the food waste, we would extend our remaining landfill life to a total of 34 years in the proposed Cell 2 and adjacent area.鈥�