City starts partnership to promote residential composting

TROY, N.Y. » Mayor Patrick Madden recently announced the launch of the Collar City’s first Online Backyard Composter and Rain Barrel Sale to promote composting and food waste reduction.

Troy and Capital Region residents can purchase backyard composter bins, rain barrels, and other equipment at bulk prices, part of the city of Troy’s efforts to divert food scraps from local landfills and promote sustainable practices.

A full list of available composting and rain barrel equipment available

for purchase at https://troycompostersale.ecwid.com/

“Composting provides a variety of benefits to residents looking to reduce their environmental footprint and limit food waste from reaching landfills. We encourage residents interested in exploring home composting to take advantage of this valuable opportunity and help build a greener, more sustainable community,” Madden said in a news release.

Benefits of composting:

More than 60 billion pounds of organic material—approximately 30% of household waste—ends up in landfills each year. This disposal method does not allow the organic matter to decompose naturally and takes up space in landfills.

Homeowners who compost help extend the life of local landfills by diverting organic materials. Composting also helps reduce the cost of household garbage collection.

Additionally, composting allows homeowners to take advantage of the nutrients that naturally occur in organic materials by using it as a soil amendment for their gardens.

Pickup location and details:

Orders for composting and rain barrel equipment must be made through the online store. Items will be ready for pick-up from 9:30 am – 1:30 pm, Saturday, April 4, 2020, at the Troy Waterfront Farmers’ Market (Troy Atrium, 4th Street entrance, located at 49 4th Street).

All orders must be completed online by April 1.

For more information on this program, call 800-8420527, or contact Renee Panetta, City Recycling Coordinator, at renee.panetta@troyny.gov