View as Webpage

Media Advisory

Kent County Department of Public Works to debut drop off for food scraps available to residents

Event on Earth Day, April 22, promotes landfill diversion, provide resources

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Kent County Department of Public Works (DPW) will debut a new option that allows residents to drop off food scraps for composting during an event on Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22.

Following the event, four containers will be available for free to Kent County residents, allowing them to drop off organic waste that will be picked up and turned into compost. The service will encourage composting and help Kent County send less waste to landfills.

Residents can sign up to use the containers by downloading the free metroKEY app and registering. More information about signing up can be found on DPW’s website. After signing up, residents can bring food scraps to one of the four containers and use the app to open the container and dump in their materials. A full list of accepted materials is available on DPW’s website and is displayed on the containers.

DPW’s partner, Organicycle, a local composting company, will collect the food scraps weekly and turn them into compost at its facility.

During the April 22 event, the DPW and its partners will share information about the program and demonstrate how to use the containers. Residents can also pick up composting buckets from the DPW to collect their food scraps.

WHAT: Media event to debut food scrap drop-off containers

WHO: Dar Baas, director of the Kent County Department of Public Works; Kris Pachla, Kent County Commissioner; and John Gorney, director of city of Grand Rapids Public Works Department

WHEN: 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22

WHERE: Kent County Recycling & Education Center, 977 Wealthy St. SW in Grand Rapids

RSVP: Please RSVP to Sydney Smith, ssmith@byrumfisk.com, if you plan to attend.

###

The Kent County Department of Public Works provides municipal solid waste disposal services to ensure the effective removal, storage and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste through various facilities and programs, including Waste-to-Energy, the Recycling and Education Center, North Kent Transfer Station and South Kent Landfill.