To The Editor:
From casting a ballot in local and national elections to choosing to compost organic matter, every action we take today affects our future. Something as simple as throwing away table scraps and unused food has significant impacts on our land, our climate, even our own finances. In Southold we now have the ability to drop off our food waste thanks to a partnership among the Long Island Organics Council, the Town of Southold, and North Fork Environmental Council.
Left to Right: Southold Town Solid Waste Coordinator Nick Krupski, North Fork Environmental Council President Mark Haubner, Southold Councilman Greg Doroski and Town Supervisor Al Krupski at the Dec. 13 ribbon-cutting for the food scrap compost program.
Consider the science for a minute: About 50 percent of municipal landfill gas–created by decomposing matter–is methane, with roughly 50 percent carbon dioxide. Methane and CO2 are powerful gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Meanwhile, municipal landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions in the U.S. To put this into context: the methane emissions from our nation’s municipal landfills just two years ago were equal to the greenhouse gas emissions from more than 24 million passenger vehicles driven for one year.
In Southold alone, we generate an estimated 6 tons of food waste and yard trimmings a day.
Then consider your personal pocketbook: How much could you save every week if you purchased what you actually eat, or can use?
The town program, just launched, is looking for 100 families to register. This should be easy based on an early trial composting effort supported by ReWild North Fork and Deep Roots Farm (Main Road, Southold) that reportedly had 64 families dropping off their table scraps over the last four months.
We hear a great deal about the existential threats posed by climate change, yet here’s a tangible step everyone of us in Southold can take now that will alter our local environment, thanks to these partnerships. Kudos to Southold Town Supervisor Al Krupski, and Nick Krupski, Department of Waste Management, for supporting this important step toward a more sane and sustainable waste management system.
Learn more about the Southold Municipal Compost Program at longislandorganicscouncil.org/projects/municipal-food-scrap-recycling-southold/ and start taking your scraps to the Town Transfer Station on Cox Lane in Cutchogue.
Suzanne Donovan
Greenport
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