Next year, residents will have a new way to discard their food scraps through the implementation of the town’s new food waste collection program. While the Town Council decided in August to not move forward with previously proposed plans to introduce a mandatory unit-based pricing trash collection program accompanied by free curbside pickup of food scraps, an alternate plan allowing residents to get rid of food waste at no cost has been created.
Starting sometime in 2025, residents will gain access to four drop-off stations across town: the Town Hall, the transfer station at 17 Brixton St., the Norfeldt baseball field and Eisenhower Park. Using an app, residents will be able to unlock a collection box and drop their food waste in for no charge beyond the bucket they bought to store the food waste in and the biodegradable bags they discarded with the food.
John Phillips, the town’s director of Public Works, said this should be seen as the first step in a process that could lead to wider town-wide food waste collection services, including more drop-off locations or even curbside pickup.