Long Island’s First Food Scrap Drop-Off Site
Food Scrap Recycle Long Island (FSRLI) is a project seeking to establish a pioneering food scrap recycling program and education campaign modeled after successful established systems.
The Issue of Food Scraps on Long Island
Currently, food scraps make up about 12-13% of Long island’s solid waste, and 30% of Long Island’s household waste. Local residents toss about half a pound of food scraps per person per day. Instead of being converted into useful compost to improve local soils, they are either being incinerated, or trucked off Long Island for disposal. This is expensive, pollutes our air, and releases greenhouse gases.
Project's Primary Objective
The objective of the program is to divert as much food waste as possible from incineration and landfills, and to create a replicable model that can be followed by other municipalities on Long Island. The project seeks to divert organic solid waste from households in the Town of Riverhead, NY. This could save the town anywhere from thousands to hundreds of thousands of taxpayer's dollars in waste disposal fees.
* If 16,000 residents in Riverhead participate in this program the town will save over $300,000 is tipping fees.
Long Island’s Very First Food Scrap Drop-Off Site
OUR DROP-OFF SITE WILL BE LOCATED AT ⤵️
532 Youngs Ave., Calverton, NY 11933
Yard Waste Facility (by E-Waste Drop-off)
Hours: Thurs - Mon from 7 AM until 3:30 PM
What happens to food scraps after being dropped off?
After residents drop off their food scraps at the designated drop-off site in Calverton, their unwanted, inedible food will be turned into brown gold (aka compost) at the Yard Waste Composting Facility right across the street on Youngs Avenue.
Finished compost will initially be offered for free and given to:
- Buildings and grounds
- Parks department
- Residents
Funding & Strategic Partnerships
Under a grant provided by the NY State Pollution Prevention Institute, the Long Island Organics Council (LIOC) has partnered with Green Inside and Out (GIAO) to execute the FSRLI project along with the pioneering Town of Riverhead, NY. Other collaborating partners on the project include the North Fork Environmental Council and the Greater Calverton Civic Association.
Register for the FSRLI Program ⟶
