Community Composting Program
Community Composting Program - Spring Season 2024
The core of ECI’s new Zero Waste Initiative is our Community Composting Program. ECI members divert food scraps from the landfill and combine it with wood shavings and mulch to create nutrient-rich, “black gold” compost that can be used as a “super-food” to enrich the soil in home gardens. We have three active compost bins at the Good Ground Heritage Garden and program participants can either drop of their own scraps or pay for pick-up service.
Why: ECI closes the loop on food waste while empowering community members, schools, and local businesses. The Community Composting Program diverts food waste from the landfill where it would decompose into methane and and contribute to the buildup of greenhouse gases. Instead, we keep it local and put food scraps to their highest, best use by transforming them into nutrient-rich compost. Closing the loop on food waste is imperative to build healthy soil, and create resilient local food systems while providing an easy way all of us can help make a difference in ameliorating the climate crisis. ♻️
New: Composting For The Health Of Your Garden And The Environment by Annie Falk
What we accept: fruit peels & veggie scraps (be sure to remove all non-organic materials including plastic stickers, bands, and tags), egg shells, nut shells, coffee grounds, tea, non-plastic tea bags, toilet paper cores, sawdust, wood ashes, hay, straw, yard trimmings, grass clippings, natural fibers in small pieces: wool, cotton, linen, hemp, & silk, unbleached paper towels & napkins, herbivore manure, flowers & plant matter, egg cartons, & shredded brown paper bags & newsprint.
What we do not accept: meat*, fish*, bones*, dairy*, grease*, oil*, bleached or laminated paper products, materials sprayed with pesticide, omnivore manure, large pieces of wood*, coal ash, raw potatoes or raw potato peels*, "compostable" plastics, coffee cups, gloss paper, cat litter, & diseased or insect-ridden plants.
* = acceptable for municipal compost
How: Collect food waste daily in your ECI compost pail and deliver it weekly (optional curbside pickup service available; free for homebound elderly) to the Good Ground Heritage Garden composting site. Drop-off days are 7 days/week during daylight hours. Program participants are responsible for cleaning out their own pails to eliminate any smells and residue. After every drop-off, weigh and record your food scraps in our log book so we can keep track of the total tonnage we divert from the landfill! Your participation in this important project will help reduce the harmful gases released into the environment contributing to climate change.
When: The Community Composting Program - Spring Season will run from March 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2024. New participants will be contacted in order to help them get started.
Where: The Good Ground Heritage Garden at the St. Joseph Villa, 81 Lynn Avenue, Hampton Bays.
Price: $40 includes a 6-gallon galvanized pail (a $20 value, yours to keep!) for collecting and transporting food scraps. Optional: for an additional $20, we will provide curbside pickup service in Hampton Bays and East Quogue (free for homebound elderly). Program participants will be offered 20 lbs. of the finished “black gold” compost at the end of the 3-month composting season. Returning participants have the option of renewing for $30 per composting season, or for the annual price of $90. All participants must be ECI Members ($5 per month or $50 per calendar year).
In Spring 2020, we introduced and demonstrated the Community Composting Program to new participants at the composting site at ECI’s Good Ground Heritage Garden. If you are new to the program, please watch this video to learn how to weigh, log, and drop off your weekly food scraps.
Update: Over the last 4 years, we have diverted over 13 tons of food scraps! We saved over 27,000 lbs. of food waste from the landfills ♻️ Participants received their finished “black gold” compost for use in their home gardens, and also donated for use in ECI's Good Ground Heritage Garden, to help grow food for those in need.
Learn more about our Zero Waste Initiative, which empowers local schools, businesses, restaurants, and homes to rethink their trash. We guide community members through the process of eliminating excess food waste, single use plastics, and packaging.
We pledge to provide sustainable and healthy solutions in order to diminish landfill-bound trash, the use of toxic chemicals, and the overall pollution and degradation of our local environment. Let’s trade in our conveniences for the health of the planet by shifting our habits.
Please reach out if you’d like to volunteer your time towards this effort. We’d be happy to have you!