Princeton To Explore Food Waste Program With 2 Collection Sites

PRINCETON, NJ — During Monday’s Council meeting, Princeton gave Municipal staff the go-ahead to explore two collection sites for the proposed food waste program.

A work session on the proposed food scraps drop-off program was held on Monday.

The program is expected to cost the Municipality $5,000 in supplies, with an operating cost of $3,600 a month with a September start date.

A presentation was made to the council by a team made up of municipal staff, a consultant, and representatives from the Princeton Environmental Commission and Sustainable Princeton.

The team suggested two drop-off locations open to all residents but limited to 100 households per site. The drop-off locations will be Witherspoon Hall and Monument Hall. The program will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Each of the sites will house two 64-gallon waste carts within a locked shed. Twice a week, the carts will be removed and replaced with empty ones. Staff will then take the food waste to the Trenton Renewables food waste recycling plant.

The program would initially be limited and if more households plan to join and the program grows, Princeton could contract the transportation of the materials.

Princeton previously had a food waste recycling program, but it wasn’t a success as only 1,000 households participated. The program ended in 2019 due to rising costs and uncertainty over whether the food waste was being recycled at all.

Going forward, the proposed program will rely on proper staffing, education and communication between residents and staff.

A survey conducted last fall revealed residents had a high interest in the program. Around 1,292 residents responded to the survey.

After considering all options available, the team zeroed in on the food scraps drop-off program as it proved to be a more sustainable, equitable and scalable solution to reducing Municipal food waste and diverting it from landfills. The team researched similar programs in Hoboken, Secaucus and Jersey City.

Once the program expands, four potential sites have been proposed – Harrison Street Garage, Westminster Choir College, neighborhood schools, and the Nancy S. Klath Center.

In terms of residents getting a chance to participate in the program, Councilwoman Eve Niedergang suggested a lottery system, where the municipality would pick 100 names.

“That way someone who finds out about it three weeks after the announcement has a shot at getting involved. I do think that could be more equitable,” Niedergang said.

The Council gave the team the go-ahead to explore options for beginning in September.

To check out details of the proposed program, click here.

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