I am writing to share with readers how easy and rewarding it is to use the town’s food scrap recycling program and to encourage more people to try it out. I was amazed to discover I was able to reduce my not-recycled trash by 75 percent and now put out for most weekly trash pickups a total of one of those small produce-size plastic bags offered by grocery stores for buying loose vegetables. That is it. One small bag. I never would have guessed what a large proportion of my trash is compostable food scraps. Most weeks I feel almost apologetic for troubling the trash pickup people with what little I leave and will likely start putting out trash every two weeks.

To accomplish the separation of food scraps, I simply use two side-by-side containers on the inside refrigerator door, one for food scraps like egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds, vegetable peels and the like that are acceptable for compost and the other for items not acceptable for compost. (With my dog I keep all not recycled trash safely inside the fridge). I deposit the food scraps once every week or two into the labeled container located directly across from the gatehouse at the waste management facility on Thomas Landers Road, alongside bins for books, clothing, shrink wrap, light bulbs, batteries, et cetera, no dump sticker needed. I’ve heard some people freeze their food scraps to reduce trips. I drive by the landfill several times a week on the way to take my dog for a beach or farm run, so for me it is not an inconvenience to stop and drop.