Local news covering the West Laurel and Burtonsville areas
Green Bin Food Scrap Collection Program for West Laurel Residents of Howard County
As of last November, an additional 7,860 households in Emerson and Kings Contrivance became eligible to join their neighbors in the Feed the Green Bin food scrap curbside collection program, according to the Howard County Bureau of Environmental Services. Residents in the newly expanded area can visit https://www.howardcountymd.gov/bureau-environmental-services/feed-green-bin for more information about the program and to sign up to participate.
There are many benefits to this program, including reduced impact on our landfill, reduced methane emissions from decomposing food waste, and reduced use of garbage disposals to get rid of food waste. Using garbage disposals for food waste costs the county almost 10 times more to remove the waste at the treatment plants, while in-home sorting of the food waste into the green bin for curbside collection creates rich compost, a useful soil amendment, that can be used to return nutrients to gardens.
Feeding the green bin is easy and offers the added benefit of a year-round collection that includes yard waste.
Longtime users of the service cite establishing a system for storing the smelliest food waste as one the keys for successfully sticking with the service. Many keep a small paper bag in the freezer to hold the offending waste until the night before the bin goes out to the curb for pick up.
Other strategies include wrapping the scraps in newspaper or storing them in a reusable plastic container that can be kept in the refrigerator or freezer and emptied into the green bin the night before collection day.
Certified compostable bags, which can be purchased online, and paper bags can be used for food scraps. However, no plastic bags will be accepted. Properly bagged food scraps must be placed in the county supplied green bin for collection not left on the curb.
The county accepts a number of items for recycling that go beyond the traditional fruits, vegetables, and coffee grounds. Greasy carboard pizza boxes, meat, fish, shellfish (including bones) can also be tossed into the green bin. The county’s website has information about what is acceptable and what is not.
Howard County was the first county in the Mid-Atlantic to start collecting food scraps and yard trim together for composting with its pilot program in Elkridge and Ellicott City in 2010, according to their website. The program has grown to include seven collection routes and seven Howard County Public Schools, to date.
Ginny Geis will return next issue.
Angie Latham Kozlowski is a staff writer and member of the Board of Directors for the Laurel History Boys. In addition to her investigative reporting, her articles frequently spotlight Howard County.