Via Montgomery County Flickr.
On Friday, Montgomery County leaders celebrated Earth Day with an event highlighting the county’s Backyard Food Scraps Composting Project.
Danling Guo, a Bethesda resident and participant in the program, hosted the event and offered a closer look at how she composts, per a release from the county.
According to the county, 124,000 tons of food scraps are thrown away every year, with 40,000 tons being tossed by single-family households. Between Nov. 2021 and the end of March, 70 residents composted more than 1,700 pounds of food scraps through the county’s program using backyard bins designed for composting.
“Composting is fundamental to diverting waste from disposal and we are so proud of the many residents like Danling, who are helping us reach Montgomery County’s goal of reducing waste and recycling more—and aiming for Zero Waste,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement.
“Community members who take a proactive approach are part of the County’s commitment to building a culture of sustainability. The Backyard Food Scraps Composting Project is keeping tons of food waste out of the County’s disposal facilities.”
The county offers free compost bins for yard trim and food scraps. According to the county Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), starting this summer the department will test an additional type of compost bin and is looking for volunteers.
“Earth Day in [Montgomery County] is a celebration of the soil that nourishes us and the role we can play in turning food scraps and yard trim back into soil, right in our backyards,” County Climate Change Officer and DEP Acting Director Adriana Hochberg wrote on Twitter.
We can all do our part to protect our environment, whether we are reducing our trash by composting food scraps, recycling more or driving less #EarthDay @MyGreenMC @MontgomeryCoMD pic.twitter.com/KmMXZ4C4FH
— County Exec Marc Elrich (@MontCoExec) April 22, 2022
Earth Day in @MontgomeryCoMD is a celebration of the soil that nourishes us and the role we can play in turning food scraps and yard trim back into soil, right in our backyards. @MontCoExec @MyGreenMC 1/3 pic.twitter.com/N6dMIqemKQ
— Adriana Hochberg (@climateczarina) April 22, 2022
According to our most recent Waste Composition Study, we estimate that nearly 124,000 tons of food scraps are disposed of in the waste stream annually, of which, an estimated 40,000 tons of food scraps are disposed by single-family households. 2/3 pic.twitter.com/f5ru3n2ObU
— Montgomery County Dept of Environmental Protection (@MyGreenMC) April 22, 2022
