Posted April 19, 2011
Those looking to compost their household food waste, but don’t know where to send it will soon have the option of curbside pickup.
For the last two years, EcoMovement has been working with area businesses to reduce their waste and collect food waste for composting. This spring, the company is looking to offer the same compost services to Seacoast residents.
“We have a large demand in Dover right now,” said Rian Bedard, owner of EcoMovement. “The idea was to start in Portsmouth, our homebase, and branch out to others, but the interest is all over.” Bedard said he will be offering the service throughout the Seacoast area and already has about 50 residents in Portsmouth, Dover, Durham, Newmarket and Kittery signed up. He believes he is receiving such a strong response from the Dover area because residents have to pay for trash bags and Portsmouth residents do not.
“Wherever the demand is, we are going to go,” he said. “We want to let people know how easy it is and getting people involved in the community will help make that happen.”
Customers will pay $6 a week for pickup. The company is also offering a “neighborhood incentive” to increase the number of people participating. Customers who get at least five neighbors to sign up, will receive two free bags of soil in the spring.
Customers will be provided a bin and compostable liner to collect compost. Once a week, EcoMovement will pick up the bags and replace the liner. Residents will be able to compost organic materials food scraps and paper products [EM] that will later be turned into soil. By composting, Bedard said residents will reduce their garbage waste by up to 66 percent, as the majority of items can be composted.
Bedard is also proposing to deliver two or three bags of compost soil to customers to those interested to use in their gardens.
Bedard encourages those who are considering but haven’t made the leap to look at the green benefits. Methane is over 20 times more dangerous a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, he said. “All the food waste that is ending up in the landfill is causing methane,” he said. “It’s also wasting a local resource we could use and put nutrients back in the soil.”
Those interested in having EcoMovement pick up their compost may visit www.zerowastenow.com.
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Copyright © 2011, Foster’s Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H.