MISSOULA — With many gathering tomorrow for a Thanksgiving meal, there’s sure to be a lot of food being prepared.
And sometimes, maybe a little too much food.
But fret not, as instead of putting your waste into the trash, Garden City Compost is an environmentally friendly alternative.
“Let's keep that stuff out of the landfill. Let's keep greenhouse gas emissions down,” said Jason Duffin, compost facility manager for Garden City Compost.
According to a 2021 study done by the EPA, roughly 35% of the total U.S. food supply is wasted every year, with 50% of that waste coming from households and food service.
This translates to anywhere between 492 to 1,032 pounds of food thrown away per person, per year.
Watch how you can dispose of your Thanksgiving leftovers:
“Let's put it to reuse and enhance the soils and stuff in our region to be able to handle those greenhouse gases and have healthier soils and more beneficial to the people and the environment,” said Duffin.
Food waste also accounts for 39% of the United States’ methane emissions.
Duffin says that composting can help reduce these emissions.
“Substantially. So, you know, everybody, you have to make a huge meal. So there's always leftovers. People love leftovers. I know this guy does. But all the stuff that you genuinely can't use, don't let it go bad. Don't waste that food. Bring it to us and we'll take care of it,” said Duffin.
Composting is simple enough; you can either keep it in a dedicated bin or have a compostable bag in your freezer, to help keep the smell down.
After which, you can drop it off at Garden City Compost or any other compost facility in your area.
“We're starting our winter hours coming up soon, which will be December 8th. So we have this Saturday and next Saturday will be our last two Saturdays for this year. And then after that will be Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm only,” said Duffin.
So this Thanksgiving, before you toss your waste into the trash, consider putting it in a dedicated compost bin!
