Meriden Pilots Waste Diversion Program

MERIDEN, CT — A new program dubbed "Making Meriden Green" will collect food scraps with the intention of separating organic material from other household waste. The first-of-its kind program has been designed to help mitigate the state's waste disposal crisis.

The pilot program is a joint effort between the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the City of Meriden, and other partners. It will be funded via a $40,000 DEEP Save Money and Reduce Trash grant.

Making Meriden Green will involve 1,000 city households in the four-month program to "test an innovative way of separating valuable organic material from other household waste," according to a statement.

Residents will be provided with special color-coded bags in which to dispose of food scraps and other organic waste, which will be collected at the same time as trash and transported to Quantum Biopower in Southington. There it will be transformed into renewable energy through a process called anaerobic digestion, or composted for use as nutrient-rich soil or fertilizer.

"The City of Meriden is leading the way by launching this pilot at a critical time for Connecticut’s waste system," DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said in a statement. "These strategies have been shown to work elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad, DEEP is thrilled to support Meriden’s pathbreaking efforts to test this approach for the first time here in Connecticut."

The pilot will provide the city and the state with data on how the process of food scrap co-collection can reduce the amount of trash residents dispose of. The program comes at a time when cities and towns have seen municipal solid waste tipping fees increase considerably over the last few years.

Thirty-five percent of what state residents throw away is organic material—food scraps and yard waste—that can be diverted from the trash for composting, anaerobic digestion, or processing into animal feed.

"We hope to be a leader for a more sustainable and affordable solid waste disposal option for our residents by partnering with HQ on this project," Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said in a statement. "While this pilot program impacts our outer district units served by private haulers, there may be future opportunities to expand this program to the more than 6,000 properties in our inner district, if successful."

For more information, visit the Meriden co-collection page: www.meridenct.gov/government/departments/public-works/co-collection/