• 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) 

• 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.

• 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