YPSILANTI, Mich. – When the Pauli family has food scraps, instead of throwing them in the trash, they put them in a special bin on their kitchen counter.
“It has to be raw, and we just put it in the bin,” said Melanie Pauli, a Ypsilanti resident.
“We have a large family, and we cook dinner every night, and we make smoothies for dessert for our kids. We fill the bin about every three days,” Melanie said.
Melanie and Greg are participating in the Washtenaw County Food Scrap Drop-Off pilot program that began in Ypsilanti last fall.
“I learned that we actually have a lot more cuttings than I thought we did. I realized we are saving an entire bag full of trash every week that shouldn’t go to the landfill,” Melanie said.
Composting is a form of organic recycling in which facilities collect and process organic materials into new products, like soil amendments.
Food is the single most common material sent to landfills, where it generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
“I feel like I’m doing my part for the environment now,” Melanie said.
Greg takes the compost bags to a drop-off location in Ypsilanti.
The program now has two more locations in Dexter and Salem Township.
The county says 180 households are participating, and the program is funded with a grant and a county match.
The Pauli family encourages everyone who can to participate in protecting the environment.
“I have been trying, neighbors and friends, and family, in fact, my mom just got her compost bin last week,” Melanie said.