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Food Scraps
Backyard Compost Unit Truckload Sale!
50% off Earth Machine Backyard Composters, accessories, and rain barrels and FREE Shipping!
Sale is open to ALL AREA RESIDENTS (You do NOT have to be a Bethlehem resident)!
Pre-order online by June 1, 2020
COVID-19 update: While the sale is STILL ON, the original April pickup date is being postponed until approximately June, or later as may be required. When pickup details are finalized, more information will be posted on the sales site, and will be emailed to all customers who have placed orders.
Update on Bethlehem's Food Scraps Composting Project:
- We are currently purchasing equipment for the “Aerated Static Pile” method of composting, and in the process of installing electricity and completing the engineering to expand the paved pad.
- $240K NYS DEC grant received for food scraps composting equipment purchase and paving.
- Test composting limited quantities of food scraps at our facility.
Successfully completed in 2017. Please click here for the results. - Community "drop spots" for residents’ food scraps, to be brought to Town facility
Under consideration as a possibility. Please complete the survey to have your opinion heard.
Food Scraps Composting – It’s easier than you may think!
- Food scraps can be composted in your own back yard (see info below),
or - You can have your food scraps and compostable paper/cardboard collected curbside through a service provided by FoodScraps360.
- Comprehensive Home Composting Guide by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE).
- Compost Bins: There are a number of types of compost units you can purchase; try a web search for “compost bins” to get started. We recommend the Earth Machine as one unit that works well.
Make your own: You can also make them simply and inexpensively with a ring of wire fence (here are instructions, or a short video shows how), or a plastic trash can (short video shows how), or old pallets (short video shows how) - Questions? Contact the Town Recycling Coordinator for more info. Email: recycle@townofbethlehem.org or phone: 518-439-4955 ext. 1510
‘Vermicomposting’ or ‘Vermiculture’ Resources
(Vermicomposting is indoor composting with special ‘Red Wiggler’ composting worms)
- Vermicomposting guide brochure from Cornell Cooperative Extension
- How to make your own worm bin
- Worm composting info and links to purchase supplies
- The power of worms (includes a video)
Why compost?
- Composting is the most ecological and environmentally efficient way of handling food scraps.
- The town has a high rate of participation in recycling and our yard waste collection and composting program. But the majority of food scraps is currently being thrown away.
- Diverting food scraps from the landfill is well aligned with the town’s Sustainable Bethlehem program, and will allow us to get closer to the town and state’s long-term ‘zero waste’ goals.
- Food scraps makes up 20 percent of landfill waste in the US, and greenhouse gas emissions are 23 times more harmful than if the waste is composted, according to EPA estimates.
- Compost enriches the soil, holds soil moisture, helps prevent erosion, suppresses weed growth, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, and offers a variety of other benefits.
Bethlehem Food Waste Composting in the News:
- The Times Union – A Greener Fate for Food Waste, October 2016
- The Spotlight – New Service Helps Out with Composting, July 2013
- The Times Union – Gardens Get Composting Boost, July 2013
- Treehugger – Compost Pickup Reaches New York’s Suburbs, June 2013