When Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced the launch of the Department of Environmental Facility’s new Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal, RFSTAD, program, he emphasized that one of the goals was to design a program that would make sense, both environmentally and financially, for municipalities that were not already operating residential food recycling programs.
The decision by the city of White Plains to start a voluntary, residential food scrap drop-off program and to participate in the RFSTAD
program, goes a long way toward meeting the county executive’s mandate.
“We could not be happier with the City’s decision to partner with the County in expanding food scrap recycling options for our residents,” Latimer said. “The inclusion of White Plains will make a tremendous impact, representing the largest municipality in the County to date offering food scrap recycling to its residents. The goal of the RFSTAD program is to expand food scrap recycling by reducing the costs and
making it feasible for all our municipalities to operate programs. The announcement that White Plains will be part of the program
shows that it is working the way we intended.”
Under RFSTAD, the county’s Department of Environmental Facilities, DEF, arranges for the consolidation, transportation, and processing of food scraps collected by municipalities. The county’s participation reduces the cost so that it is the same as—or less than—the transportation and disposal cost of garbage, making food scrap recycling feasible for municipalities that otherwise would not be able to offer this service. Moreover, incorporating grant funding from the state Department of Environmental Conservation for start-up materials,
allows local municipalities to start these programs for a few thousand dollars.
White Plains is excited to participate in this new County program,” White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said. “The City has encouraged
its residents to compost on their own property as a means of reducing their carbon footprint, but this new program allows us to expand that opportunity to residents who do not have their own yards as well as to those who are interested in this new recycling option but do not have use for the compost. In addition to providing an important environmental benefit, the Food Scrap Recycling program is also a great example of shared services between governments, which is good for our taxpayers.”
Additionally, the county recently started construction on CompostED, the Department of Environmental Facility’s new Compost and Education Facility in Valhalla. CompostED will be a small-scale compost demonstration facility, offering educational tours and classes on the benefits of composting and for municipalities on incorporating food scraps in municipal yard waste composting activities. The facility is slated to open in spring 2021.
DEF and the county also recommend that residents compost at home when they are able. The county sells compost bins and rain barrels at wholesale cost. Next sale will be April 24, please contact PLM9@WestchesterGov.com for details. (Submitted)
