Tompkins County’s food scraps recycling drop spot program depends on the hard work of several drop spot consultants who staff the locations on a weekly basis. These dedicated attendants ensure that residents can drop off their food scraps with a high level of dependability and quality customer service.

“The consultants play a very important role in growing the program,” said Leo Riley, Deputy Director. “Thanks to their customer service, we’ve seen an increase every year in participation and material collected.”

TCRMM continuously seeks new Drop Spot Consultants to staff locations throughout the County, including a new drop spot planned to open in Trumansburg this Spring. Interested? Please fill out this brief form or visit RecycleTompkins.org/DropSpots for more information.

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is held annually in the first week of May to raise public awareness about the many benefits of composting and how to make and use compost to regenerate soils. This year’s theme is “Recipe for Regeneration: Compost”, highlighting the importance of composting in regenerative agriculture. By composting food scraps and other organic materials, we can create healthier soil leading to improved harvests.

Plans for International Compost Awareness Week are still in development, but stay tuned for future announcements. This year will most likely include a continuation of last year’s compost giveaway events and the planned opening of a new food scraps recycling drop spot location.

Did You Know?

Recycling bins for public events are loaned out through the Borrow-A-Bin program.

Temperature and humidity are the most important factors to consider when organizing your fridge. Not everyone eats the same food, but following these general practices will help food and money from going to waste.

Organize your shelves and door based on temperature:

• Bottom shelf (coldest): Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be stored on the coldest shelf
• Middle shelves (less cold): Milk, eggs, dairy, deli meats
• Upper shelf (even less cold): Leftovers, drinks, ready-to-eat foods, berries, herbs
• Door (least cold): Condiments, beverages

Crisper drawers allow for humidity control. If your crispers don’t have a humidity control, fully closing a drawer keeps moisture in to make it high humidity, while leaving it slightly open allows moisture to escape for low humidity.

• High humidity drawer: Most veggies, especially leafy greens that wilt
• Low humidity drawer: Fruits, mushrooms

Did you know that you can recycle more items than just what’s accepted in your curbside recycling bin? The Recycling and Solid Waste Center has drop off areas for several different kinds of materials. These include:

• Electronics
• Food Scraps and Fats, oils, and grease (FOG)
• Propane Tanks
• Rechargeable Batteries
• Rigid Plastics
• Scrap Metal
• Textiles
• Tires
• And more...

For a list of all the drop off areas and limitations or requirements, visit our Additional Recyclables page at RecycleTompkins.org.