From paper to pet food, diapers to last night’s dinner scraps, many everyday items end up in a landfill that don’t need to be there.
About a quarter of the garbage Cary sends to the county landfill is food waste, according to local environmentalists. While food scraps may seem harmless, they emit methane, a toxic gas that warms the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
As part of a new food-waste program, Cary opened the Citizen’s Convenience Center on North Dixon Avenue last year, where people can dispose of accepted materials. Last week, the town opened a second waste center at 425 Mills Park Drive in western Cary.
Residents can drop off food waste, coffee grounds, paper towels, napkins and other materials at either center to keep them out of the Wake County landfill. To date, the town has collected 80 tons of food scraps from 26,000 drop-offs.
What happens at the landfill?
Srijana Guilford, the town’s waste strategist, teaches Cary residents how to compost food waste at home so that it can be used on farms.