Food Waste Recycling Tips For Summer
Summertime can pose a number of challenges when managing your food waste/scraps recycling program. Proactively addressing those challenges with the solutions below will help ensure that ALL of the food waste and food scraps on-site end up being anaerobically digested or composted.
A clean food waste/scraps program helps keep your staff and customers happy, as well as our drivers! We’ve provided a range of tips to review to help keep your program clean, reduce odors, and deter critters during the long days of summer. Use whichever options work for your business and let us know if you have any others.
Stay out of the sun.
Store your tote(s) in a shed or sheltered area to keep your food scraps out of the elements and hot sun. If they are located outside, keep them in the shadiest spot feasible. If you have a walk-in freezer/cooler stage them there until the night before your service day.
Leave no trace.
Keep the area around your food scraps tote clean by making sure ALL food scraps and food waste end up in the tote instead of the surrounding area or on top of the lid!
Leave room for… milk and sugar? dessert?
Leave about 4” from the top, don’t overfill, and make sure the lid is shut after you empty your smaller buckets into your tote. When your tote is full, pull the liner through the rubber band and tie off the liner.
Got coffee?
Coffee grounds make an excellent topping for your food scraps. If you generate coffee grounds, separate them into their own bucket and periodically top off your tote(s) to minimize smells!
Hit the showers!
Rinse your tote(s) after Agri-Cycle services them. A light rinse every couple of weeks can make a world of difference! If you don’t want to do it yourself, call us about our tote-washing trailer service.
What are your summertime tips? Share them with us HERE.
Thank you to all of our partners who work with Agri-Cycle to turn their food waste/scraps into renewable energy, organic fertilizer, and compost.