The city of New Rochelle launched its new drop-off food scrap recycling program, becoming the 28th municipality to join Westchester County Refuse Disposal District’s Residential Food Scrap Transportation and Disposal Program (RFSTAD). Under RFSTAD, district municipalities oversee the collection of residential food scraps utilizing either a drop-off or curbside collection program. The district then arranges to have the food waste transported to an organics recycler at a subsidized rate.
With the help of Westchester County, the city of New Rochelle joins other municipalities in reducing food scraps ending up in solid waste streams and providing more residents with a convenient way to recycle. Last year alone, the RFSTAD program managed over 1,100 tons of food waste and has continued to grow as more localities have taken advantage of the program’s environmental benefits and cost savings.
New Rochelle’s decision to join the RFSTAD program strengthens the county’s commitment to promoting sustainability countywide. Since the launch of the RFSTAD program, County Executive George Latimer has highlighted the importance of providing local municipalities with a program that would ease the financial burden of connecting with local food scrap programs. He said, “My administration has been steadfast in expanding our food scrap recycling program’s influence and our recycling efforts countywide. The city of New Rochelle joins the ranks of other local municipalities wanting to provide its residents with an additional way they can recycle and make an environmental impact. I am incredibly proud of the work our Department of Environmental Facilities are doing to expand programs like RFSTAD, and I am proud of the local municipalities stepping up to reduce their waste in a unique way.”
In addition to RFSTAD, the county operates CompostEd, a small-scale food scrap composting site adjacent to the H-MRF in Valhalla. This facility can compost up to two tons of food scraps a week, providing an educational opportunity and composting demonstration site. Residents, students and municipal officials interested in learning about the process and benefits of composting and exploring opportunities to incorporate food scrap composting into local programs are given tours of the facility.
