In just one year, Zero Food Waste has grown from an idea into a thriving community-wide movement. We are thrilled that more than 1,300 households have signed up for weekly curbside pick-up service through our partner Momentum Recycling. Collectively, we have diverted more than 800 tons of food waste from the Summit County landfill, preventing 24.5 tons of methane into the atmosphere, and saving taxpayers the equivalent of $100,000+ in landfill space.
We did not get this far alone! Thank you to the many households and businesses for their dedication to the Zero Food Waste movement and for signing up. And, thanks to so many of the current customers for referring friends to take part.
This is noteworthy progress! However, the road to systemic change is not always easy and there have been a few challenges along the way. For many months, our food waste was being processed locally in Summit County. Due to some issues with permitting at the property used by Spoil to Soil, we have started hauling food waste back to Wasatch Resource Recovery in the Salt Lake valley. Gratefully, working closely with our hauling partner, Momentum Recycling, our customers have not seen any lapse in their service during this transition. We will continue to work towards a long-term compost solution within the county and will continue to be transparent and keep you updated on the progress.
Our strategic partnerships and collaborations have also helped to expand the Zero Food Waste movement across the Wasatch Back. In our first year, we have:
We are currently working with Summit County to offer FREE food waste collection through the end of 2025 to eligible residents. You can sign up or if you are already a customer, you can refer your friends and get two months free! Get free food waste collection >>
What’s Next
Looking ahead, we expect the number of households participating to continue their steady increase. We will use the lessons learned from the Zero Food Waste Restaurant Cohort to continue scaling food waste collection to local businesses. We will continue our strong partnership with local government.
To reach our community goal of diverting all food waste from the local landfill by 2030, we need everyone to be ALL IN. Please reach out to your friends and community and encourage them to sign up and build a new habit of food waste collection. We assure you that food waste collection can be fun and feel good. Get your kids involved, admire how you are contributing to a sustainable future, and – bonus – you won’t have to take the trash out as often!
Learn more about the program and sign up if you haven’t already >>
Posted in: Our Impact, Zero Food Waste