Schools looking to reduce or recycle food waste could get help from Monroe County

Monroe County Administrator Adam Bello’s 2025 interim budget calls for the launch of a testing program that would give school districts grants for programs aimed at keeping food waste out of landfills.

His proposed budget includes $50,000 to fund the effort. Districts would be required to develop new or expanded food waste diversion programs and apply for matching grants, which would be a maximum of $5,000 per district.

“We really want to understand how the mechanics of programs can work, especially in a pilot environment where we can really study and analyze them,” said Mike Garland, commissioner of the county’s Department of Environmental Services.

County lawmakers will vote on Bello’s budget proposal in December. A public hearing on the plan is scheduled to begin Dec. 5 at 5:35 p.m.

The school district’s initiatives could take a variety of forms. For example, a district may want to donate uneaten food to feed people in need. Another might develop a composting program for food scraps.

“We definitely want to encourage creative thinking and know that this is not a one-size-fits-all approach for school districts,” Garland said. He added that district officials hope school districts will include not only students but also facilities and kitchen staff.

Education will be a key focus of the effort, Garland said. As Department of Environmental Services staff have found through their recycling education efforts, students are a willing audience, he added.

“They bring this information home,” Garland said. “It gets passed down from class to class.”

Garland also said the project is consistent with the second phase of the county’s Climate Action Plan, which focuses on strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the community.

When food waste decomposes in landfills, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, food is the largest category of materials ending up in municipal landfills — making up about a quarter of waste but responsible for more than half of facilities’ methane emissions.

Monroe County generated an estimated 119,270 tons of food waste in 2010, according to an analysis conducted as part of the county’s 2015 Waste Management Plan. This is the most current estimate available.

That’s more than the weight of a military aircraft carrier and accounted for an estimated 16% of the county’s solid waste.

The county is also developing a plan to reduce organic waste, such as food scraps and grass clippings, and keep it out of landfills. As part of this process, the County will review existing programs, policies and regulations for these types of organic waste.

In practical terms, the plan could lay the groundwork for things like food waste recycling and composting programs or other approaches to keeping yard waste out of landfills.

The district is currently seeking feedback to advance the development of the plan. Three surveys were conducted: one for residents, one for farmers and one for businesses. You can find them at monroecounty.gov/organics-management-plan.