Food Composting Drop-Offs at Springs, Sag Harbor Farmers Markets This Weekend

Food composting is coming to a farmers market near you this summer.

As part of a pilot program called East Hampton Compost, launched by East Hampton resident Gloria Frazee, ReWild Long Island and East Hampton Town, food scraps from residents will be collected at the Springs Farmers Market every Saturday for the remainder of the summer, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at the Sag Harbor Farmers Market, from 10 a.m. to noon, starting this weekend.

The food scraps will be composted at the East Hampton Town dump on Springs-Fireplace Road.

For a good compost, Frazee asked that residents only bring raw food scraps like fruit peels, vegetable scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, loose tea leaves and cut flowers.

Americans throw away nearly a third of the food produced in this country, most of it by private households — which throw out $1,850 worth of food a year on average, Frazee told town officials last week.

Meanwhile, soils around the country are degrading, homeowners are overwatering and using more chemical fertilizers to make up for less healthy soil, and decaying food in landfills is releasing methane into the atmosphere.

Composting could be the answer to many problems, Frazee claims, and is better for the overall ecosystem — attracting butterflies, fireflies and bumblebees that burrow in loose compost or soil.

More information about the project, and a portal to schedule a drop off, is available at easthamptoncompost.com. Volunteers and donations are also being sought.

Frazee said she is also working on a component to the website with links and instructions on how to compost food scraps at home, so that residents can improve the soil health on their own properties.

East Hampton Town Councilwoman Cate Rogers said that spreading education about composting is another key step in the town’s mission toward being a sustainable community.

“This initiative is another step toward achieving our sustainability goals,” she said. “By working together, we can make a tangible difference in reducing food waste and our carbon emissions and also preserving the natural beauty of East Hampton.”