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   Press Release
Kent County Department of Public Works launches free food scraps drop-off for residents
Program encourages composting, provides accessible way for residents to help reduce landfill waste
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Kent County residents now have a new option to help reduce landfill waste in their communities.
On Earth Day today, the Kent County Department of Public Works (DPW) debuted drop-off containers for food scraps that are available for free to Kent County residents, allowing them to drop off materials like fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and compostable containers, which will be picked up and turned into compost. The service is meant to encourage composting and help Kent County send less waste to landfills.
“In Michigan, over 30% of the material that ends up in our state’s landfills is made up of organic waste,” said Matt McPherson, marketing and communications manager for the DPW. “Our new Residential Food Scrap Drop-Off Program provides an accessible way for anyone in our community to divert food scraps from landfills and reduce waste.”
Residents can sign up to use the containers by downloading the free metroKEY app and registering. After signing up, residents can bring food scraps to one of the four containers and use the app to unlock the container and dump in their materials. A full list of accepted materials is available on the DPW’s website and is also displayed on the containers.
“The DPW is providing this free program to remove barriers to composting and make participation as simple as possible,” said Kris Pachla, Kent County commissioner. “By using these free containers, residents will help to reduce landfill waste and create a more sustainable future for our community.”
The DPW has containers in two locations:
- Kent County Recycling & Education Center, 977 Wealthy St. SW in Grand Rapids
- North Kent Recycling & Waste Center, 2908 10 Mile Road NE in Rockford
Kent County residents can also pick up a 1.5- or 2.5-gallon bucket from the Recycling & Education Center to collect materials at home. Buckets are available to be picked up during DPW's Open Hours on Monday, April 27.
The city of Grand Rapids will soon offer a similar program for city residents. The addition of DPW’s containers makes drop-off available to any county resident.
“With this program, and the city of Grand Rapids’ program, every resident in Kent County has the opportunity to make a real difference in reducing the amount of waste we send to landfills,” said John Gorney, Public Works director for the city of Grand Rapids. “I encourage residents to take advantage of this new, convenient option and help reduce waste.”
More information about the program, as well as details about sign-up and drop off, is available on the DPW’s website, along with a video demonstration on how to use the containers.
Event photos, how-to video, and one-pager
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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.
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