Latest news with #foodscraps
CNN
29-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Best compost bins, according to real composters
Compost bin quick picks A small compost bin to get started: Oxo Good Grips Easy-Clean Bin A large compost bin for busy kitchens: Exaco Eco 2000-NP 2.4-Gallon Pail Certified compostable liner bags: BioBag The Original Compostable BagComposting at home is a fantastic way to reduce your impact on the planet, and with the best compost bins, you can start turning your food scraps into compost and reduce your waste. Whether you have a backyard composter or participate in your city's curbside program, composting is an easy habit to start. Once you figure out how to start a compost pile or research your town's rules, you might be looking for a countertop compost bin to collect all your food scraps. But before you buy a fancy bin for your kitchen, take a look around your house. 'As an environmental organization, we encourage people to use what they already have available,' said Lia Lucero, community engagement manager at the Lower East Side Ecology Center. 'Just about anything can be turned into a container, and we've seen a lot of creativity from participants dropping off at the Union Square Greenmarket. Items like yogurt tubs, takeout containers and salad boxes can all be repurposed for collecting food scraps.' Although a compost bin is an eco-friendly product, the more sustainable option is to use what you already have. If you don't have a container at home or like the idea of a separate bin to help you collect food scraps, we've listed some of the best on the market to get you started. EconoHome 5-Gallon Bucket Pail Container With Lid "My expertise is mostly in compost production, so I am in favor of any bin of organics that is clean (contamination-free)," said Rutger Myers, director of compost and carbon farming at Eco-Cycle. "I'm not particularly picky about my organic receptacle bin. At home, I use a 5-gallon bucket with a lid." Simplehuman Compost Caddy This compost bin can attach to existing Simplehuman trash cans, making it a great modular option. It has a sleek design but is on the smaller side compared to other bins. Oxo Good Grips Easy-Clean 0.75-Gallon Compost Bin This small compost bin from Oxo is made from plastic, so it's easy to clean. It won't be as durable as any stainless steel option, though. Red Factor Premium 1.3-Gallon Stainless Steel Compost Bin This stainless steel compost bin can hold 1.3 gallons of food waste and keep your kitchen from stinking with a charcoal filter. It's very similar to a bin I've had and used for over four years. Compost bins aren't typically dishwasher-safe, but stainless steel is easy to clean in the sink. Epica 1.3-Gallon Stainless Steel Countertop Compost Bin This stainless steel bin also has a charcoal filter to help reduce odors. I've found I like bins with 1.3 gallons of capacity, as it gets full in about one to two weeks. I've had issues in the past with discoloration of painted and enameled containers, which is why I prefer plain stainless steel. Kibaga Kitchen Compost Bin With Smell Proof Lid This cute can is made from stainless steel but has a wooden handle and knob. If you keep your bin on your counter and care about aesthetics, this could be a good option. Tiyafuro 2.4-Gallon Kitchen Compost Bin If you'd rather keep your compost bin under the sink, this nifty hanging bin is a great option. It holds 2.4 gallons, so unless you create a lot of food waste, you'll probably want to empty it even before it gets full. Exaco ECO 2000-NP 2.4-Gallon Kitchen Compost Pail Another large, budget option for kitchens that produce a lot of scraps, this pail has a carbon filter and is built from sturdy plastic. BioBag The Original Compostable Bag If you want to line your bin to make clean up a little easier, make sure to research if your collection facility can accept bags. These from BioBag are certified compostable in industrial composters only, so you might want to line your bin with paper bags to be extra safe. Elena Lopez, senior outreach and communications manager at LA Compost, also encourages collecting scraps with whatever you already have at home, such as a bowl or food container. Even if it's a bin you're about to throw in the recycling, it could be used to collect scraps. However, she also said, 'If a stylish compost bin inspires you to stick with the habit, go for it. Just consider choosing one made from durable, sustainable materials like aluminum.' Stainless steel and aluminum are the best materials to look for in a compost bin. Some bins have an enamel coating to make them more aesthetically pleasing, but that coating can come off after years of use. When deciding which bin to choose, there are a few factors to consider. 'When choosing a container size, it depends on how often curbside collection is scheduled in their area and how much food waste they generate between pickups,' Lucero said. 'In NYC, curbside composting is typically once a week, though some residents also have access to local drop-off sites, including Smart Compost bins.' Besides the dimensions of your bucket, location is also an important factor to consider when collecting your food waste. 'We recommend keeping the container in the freezer to prevent fruit flies and odors,' Lucero said. 'For those storing their container under the sink or on the countertop, troubleshooting with shredded newspaper or baking soda can help. Some people use a two-step system: collecting daily scraps in a small container and then transferring them to a larger container stored in the freezer.' Especially if you're storing your container under the sink or on your countertop, look for a bin with either an airtight lid or one with a charcoal filter to help reduce odors. The following FAQs were answered by composting experts Elena Lopez and Lia Lucero, and include reporting done by Kai Burkhardt, CNN Underscored's outdoors, sustainable living and pets editor. What are the best types of food waste to put in a compost bin? What are the best types of food waste to put in a compost bin? 'The types of food waste accepted vary by program,' Lucero said. 'NYC Curbside Composting and Smart Bins accept a wide range of scraps, including meat and dairy. However, community food-scrap drop-off sites usually don't accept those items, as they're processed through smaller composting systems.' As a reminder, when you're tossing your onion and banana peels along with other scraps, make sure to look for and remove any stickers, as they won't break down. How often should you empty a compost bin? How often should you empty a compost bin? You should empty your compost bin about once a week or whenever it gets full. This is easy when you have curbside pickup, but if you're dumping your scraps somewhere, remember to stick to a frequent schedule. If you leave food scraps in the bin for too long, it can start to smell bad, grow bacteria or attract pests. What types of bag liners are the best for compost bins? What types of bag liners are the best for compost bins? 'If you prefer to line your bin, brown paper bags or newspaper are compost-friendly options,' Lopez said. 'We recommend avoiding plastic liners, which can cause issues in the composting process and often aren't accepted.' Some liners are certified compostable, however, such as BioBags, which are recommended by Lucero and can be broken down in industrial composters. For this article, we consulted the following experts to gain their professional insights. Elena Lopez, senior outreach and communications manager at LA Compost Lia Lucero, community engagement manager at the Lower East Side Ecology Center Rutger Myers, director of compost and carbon farming at Eco-Cycle CNN Underscored has a team of skilled writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. We talk to top experts when applicable to make certain we are testing each product accurately, recommending only the best products and considering the pros and cons of each item. For this article, CNN Underscored's outdoors, sustainable living and pets editor Kai Burkhardt spoke to a number of compost experts from across the country. He also has been collecting his own food scraps for compost for over four years.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
An $18M grant would have drastically reduced food waste. Then the EPA cut it.
Once a little girl roaming the vibrant fields of an organic lettuce farm in Kealakekua, Hawai'i, Ella Kilpatrick Kotner learned how to live in harmony with the land before most kids learn how to tie their shoes. Nourishing the soils that gave her a regular supply of leafy greens was just a part of life. As was playing with the piles of compost on her family's farm. 'Composting, for me, is a lot about community,' said Kilpatrick Kotner. 'It's about connecting people to food and soil, and it's about learning and being engaged in the process, and meeting your neighbors, and treating this thing that many people think of as a waste as a resource to be cherished and handled with care and turned into something beautiful that we can then reuse to grow more food.' She now leads a program at Groundwork RI, a nonprofit in Providence, Rhode Island, that does just that. Every day, her team of three bikes throughout the city, collecting food scraps from hundreds of households, which are then brought to a community garden. There, they mix pounds of nitrogen-rich food scraps otherwise destined for landfills with carbon-rich materials, such as dry leaves and wood shavings, while sifting out pieces of plastic and even the occasional fork. In doing so, Kilpatrick Kotner is creating a menu and a habitat for the microbes that prompt the decomposition process, transforming the waste into a spongy source of life for the soil. The compost is then made available to those enrolled in the subscription-based service to use in home gardens, yards, or urban farms. Read Next New York City is making people compost — or pay up Frida Garza The U.S. wastes over one-third of its food supply, which contributes considerably to global greenhouse gas emissions, primarily as a result of the methane that is released when food decomposes in landfills. A decade ago, the Obama administration set a national target to cut the nation's food waste in half by 2030. Many observers expected the first Trump administration to ignore that goal because of the implicit climate focus, so it came as a surprise when Trump doubled down on the benchmark. Not only did Trump officials participate in the 2018 U.S. Food Waste Summit, but his first administration also launched the first interagency agreement to reduce food loss and waste. That involved formal commitments to the 50 percent food waste reduction goal from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration. Without any federal enforcement mechanism, though, that ambitious goal has remained out of reach. Americans still waste about 300 pounds of food per person each year, roughly as much food as they did almost a decade ago. Trump's reasoning, anyway, had more to do with protecting economic gains — food waste costs the U.S. hundreds of billions every year — than climate benefits. In 2023, the EPA launched the Community Change Grants Program, a congressionally authorized program to support community-based organizations addressing environmental justice challenges, which funneled in about $2 billion of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. In December, Groundwork RI was 1 of 9 organizations included in an $18.7 million community change grant awarded to the Rhode Island Food Policy Council. A portion of the three-year funding stream was intended to provide the nonprofit with the resources needed to expand its collection service to neighboring cities, build a bigger compost hub, renovate their greenhouse with its pay-what-you-can farmstand, and add composting bin systems to more local community gardens. It also would have made it possible for Kilpatrick Kotner's team to launch a free food-scrap collection pilot with the city of Providence. Now, in his second term, President Trump has made no secret of the fact that his administration is working to unravel climate action and justice-oriented programs across the government — and make it harder for state initiatives to pick up the slack. Last Thursday, after months of the Trump funding freeze uncertainty, the partners involved in the Rhode Island food-waste project learned that the $18 million grant was terminated. The EPA's official notice, shared with Grist, informed the grantees that their project was 'no longer consistent' with the federal agency's funding priorities and therefore nullified 'effective immediately.' Zealan Hoover, a former senior adviser to President Joe Biden's EPA Administrator Michael Regan, doesn't believe that Trump is specifically targeting food-waste initiatives, but rather environmental justice programs in their entirety. 'It's clear to me, from the terminations that have been going out, from the statements that have been made, in court filings, and to the press, that EPA is in the process of sending termination notices to every grantee in the Office of Environmental Justice,' said Hoover, who led the agency's implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law. He noted that he believes the move to be 'unlawful' as the IRA funding was allocated by Congress. 'As with any change in administration, EPA has been reviewing all of its grant programs and awarded grants to ensure each is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and to understand how those programs align with administration priorities,' an EPA spokesperson told Grist. 'Maybe the Biden-Harris administration shouldn't have forced their radical agenda of wasteful DEI programs and 'environmental justice' preferencing on the EPA's core mission of protecting human health and the environment.' The spokesperson did not respond to Grist's request for clarification about the agency's legal authority to cancel the congressionally authorized community change grant. Michelle Roos, executive director at the Environmental Protection Network, which is a national volunteer network of former EPA staffers, told Grist that around 400 grantees have now had their contracts terminated. The number of grants targeted was first released by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at the end of March. A recently filed court document revealed the EPA is planning to terminate 781 grants in total. According to Hoover, in prior administrations, it was 'exceedingly rare' for the EPA to terminate grants. 'This is a huge break from precedent that is pulling the rug out from underneath local communities,' he said. Nessa Richman, executive director of the Rhode Island Food Policy Council, also questions how the administration can end the $18 million community change grant. The lead-up to the project took more than a year to develop and had garnered support from several state departments and the Department of the Navy. 'It is a sinking feeling,' said Richman, 'that this opportunity that we, and our partners, had worked so hard for, and that our state was so ready for, is slipping away.' The money was set to create 27 new local jobs, provide food scrap pickup for more than 15,000 households, build 37 food scrap drop-off locations across Rhode Island, and develop nine compost processing facilities, including a larger-scale one on land owned by the naval station. What's more, it would have launched a local supply chain for redirecting excess food from institutions like schools and restaurants to food-insecure community members instead of landfills. And it would have made Groundwork RI's pickup collection model freely accessible to the community members they serve — not just to help fight food waste, but to also learn how to take better care of the soil as they grow their own food. 'It's easier for folks who have a little bit of disposable income to buy that countertop composting food scrap collector, or that 5-gallon bucket, and buy a service that comes and picks up their food waste at their door. It's easier for them than for people who are working three jobs to make ends meet to take the time to separate out that food waste,' said Richman. 'The loss of the funding, in a real way, doesn't just slow down the reduction of the food waste, but it further establishes a divide.' Richman estimates that at the end of the three years, the project would have diverted over 11,000 tons of food waste from landfill, which in turn would have prevented more than 15,000 metric tons of emissions. Hours after she read the notification of their grant termination, Richman met an old colleague at a local coffee shop in Rhode Island's East Greenwich. It had been many years since they'd seen each other, and the two sat together, catching up until the shop closed. As they talked for a while longer in the parking lot, Richman watched in frustration as one of the coffee shop's employees carried two bags of perfectly edible pastries and threw them in the dumpster. This story was originally published by Grist with the headline An $18M grant would have drastically reduced food waste. Then the EPA cut it. on May 9, 2025.
