Free kitchen caddies will be available for Alachua County residents at the county’s five rural collection centers on Saturday.
The caddies will be available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the giveaway, in partnership with O-Town Compost and the Alachua County Solid Waste & Resource Recovery Department, “is part of an effort to encourage residents to divert food scraps and other biodegradable waste from landfill and turn them into nutrient-rich compost,” according to an Alachua County release.
“Compostable materials make up roughly one-third of our household waste,” said Waste Collection & Alternatives Manager Patrick Irby in the release. “Diverting these materials from the landfill and using them to create soil-enhancing compost is a far better use than simply throwing them away.”
Residents who visit a rural collection center will receive a kitchen caddy and compostable liners, while supplies last. Collected materials can be dropped off in designated compost bins at participating rural collection centers.
Rural collection center locations:
- Alachua/High Springs -16929 NW U.S. Highway 441
- Archer – 19401 SW Archer Road
- Fairbanks – 9920 NE Waldo Road
- North Central – 10714 N. State Road 121
- Phifer – 11700 SE Hawthorne Road
The program is available exclusively to Alachua County residents and is supported by a Circular Economy Grant from Alachua County.
“In the first three months of the program, Alachua County residents diverted more than 3,300 pounds of food scraps from the landfill,” said Richard Devereaux, Gainesville general manager of O-Town Compost, in the release. “This will be our third free kitchen caddy event since the program’s launch, and we’re excited to see participation and collection volumes continue to grow.”
For more information, contact Alachua County Solid Waste and Resource Recovery at 352-338-3233 or wastecollection@alachuacounty.us, or Richard Devereaux of O-Town Compost at 352-317-8819 or richard@o-towncompost.com.