Health
Chicago Expands Food Scrap Compost Drop-Off Program to 13 Public Libraries
More than a dozen libraries will now serve as food scrap drop-off sites in Chicago. (Credit: City of Chicago)
Chicago continues to look for ways to make composting more convenient for residents, short of implementing a full-scale municipal collection system.
On Wednesday, officials announced 13 libraries will now serve as food scrap drop-off sites, through a partnership between the Department of Streets and Sanitation and Chicago Public Library. The addition of the library locations brings the total number of drop-off options to 33.
In the two years since Chicago launched a composting pilot program, some 7,500 households have signed up to participate and more than one million pounds of food waste has been diverted from landfills, according to officials.
Using libraries as drop-off points brings composting “closer to where people live, learn and gather,” officials said.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, food waste accounts for nearly one-quarter of all material that winds up in landfills in the United States, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, methane in particular.
“Diverting food waste from landfills to composting is one of the easiest and most impactful actions individuals and cities can take to fight climate change,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson in a statement.
To avoid the kind of contamination that has plagued Chicago’s recycling program, the composting program only accepts food scraps. No yard waste, no paper, no compostable bags or foodware — nothing that isn’t food — is permitted in order to keep the messaging simple.
Streets and Sanitation picks up the scraps and transports them to the Harbor View Composting Facility, which is operated by Whole Earth Compost.
It’s free to participate in the program, but people need to sign up online and watch a short instructional video.
New drop-off locations:
— Avalon Branch, 8148 S. Stony Island Ave.
— Dunning Branch, 7455 W. Cornelia Ave.
— Edgebrook Branch, 5331 W. Devon Ave.
— Hegewisch Branch, 3048 E. 130th St.
— Lincoln Belmont Branch, 1659 W. Melrose St.
— Portage-Cragin Branch, 5108 W. Belmont Ave.
— Scottsdale Branch, 4101 W. 79th St.
— Sherman Park Branch, 5440 S. Racine Ave.
— Toman Branch, 2708 S. Pulaski Road
— Uptown Branch, 929 W. Buena Ave.
— Vodak-East Branch, 3710 E. 106th St.
— West Chicago Avenue Branch, 4856 W. Chicago Ave.
— Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted St.
Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]
