Waste Management takes Oak Park food waste collection villagewide

Waste Management and Oak Park are making the Village’s food waste and soiled paper collection program available to all residents effective immediately.

There were 110 participants in the pilot program which began in April 2012.  Their enthusiastic feedback prompted the Village to expand the program this year.  Currently there are more than 400 residents and five elementary schools participating in the program sponsored by Waste Management.

"Our food waste collection pilot demonstrated that Oak
Park’s residents eagerly participated, helping them to eliminate food waste from their trash and show their support for the environment,” said Matt Hernandez, Waste Management’s public sector service representative serving Oak Park.  “Waste Management is delighted to offer the program because it enables us to take a waste material that would have gone to the landfill and make it into a valuable reusable commodity, compost, which can be used for a variety of landscape purposes.”

“Oak Park has long been an environmental leader and it’s
appropriate that during Earth Day Week we can announce our food waste collection program as one more way we are demonstrating our commitment to environmental sustainability and recycling,” said Karen Rozmus, Oak Park’s solid waste manager.  “Oak Park is the only Chicago-area community we know of that has launched a successful village-wide residential food waste collection and composting program.”

Residents signing up for the program will receive an
“under-the-sink” bucket for food wastes, a box of compostable bags to contain food scraps, and a 96-gallon wheeled cart from Waste Management in which they
can mix food and yard wastes. 

There is a monthly fee of $14 for participants, which will be added to residents’ water bills.  Collection will be weekly.

Participating residents will not need to purchase yard waste bags or stickers.  The cost of the program is equal to about what residents will save in no longer having to purchase yard waste bags and stickers, Rozmus said. The program is available to single-family residences up to and including five-flat households using Waste Management services.

Materials included in the program include food scraps and
food-soiled paper.  All food products, including fruit, vegetables, breads, cereal, dairy, meat (including bones),
coffee grounds, filters and tea bags, pasta and food –soiled paper, including paper towels, plates, napkins, pizza boxes, paper food packaging and lunch snacks can be placed into the 96-gallon collection cart along with  yard waste and brush.

Materials not included are plastic packaging and bags; dairy cartons; disposable plastic serving ware such as plates, cups and utensils; sanitary waste; diapers; and pet waste.

Once collected, Waste Management takes the food scraps to its compost facility in Romeoville, where the material is ground and mixed with yard waste such as tree and shrubbery trimmings, vines, grass clippings and leaves.   The mixed material is then placed in managed windrows and monitored for aerobic conditions, temperature, moisture and oxygen content. The windrows are turned from time to time to introduce oxygen into the waste material to aid in its decomposition. The finished
product is a fine compost that is marketed as a soil amendment for use in landscaping applications.   

Waste Management offers food scrap and yard waste collection services to a growing list of customers in Northern Illinois.  They include grocery chains, food
manufacturers, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, commercial properties and schools.

Waste Management is the leading company offering compost programs in Northern Illinois.  The Company operates three compost sites in Chicago, De Kalb and Romeoville.

The desire by its customers to reduce waste is helping to
drive this activity.  More than 30 percent of the nation’s waste stream is comprised of organic material.  Of this, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that approximately 14 percent is food scrap, 13 percent is
yard trimmings, and 6 percent is wood wastes. In all, USEPA estimates that the nation generates 80 million tons of compostable organic material annually.

For more information, residents can contact Karen Rozmus at the Village by calling (708) 358-5707 or Waste Management at (800) 796-9696.