Champaign-Urbana now has a place where community members can drop off their food waste.
The nonprofit Champaign County Environmental Stewards has partnered with WasteNot, a Chicago-based compost collector, to establish a food scrap waste dropoff service at Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana.
For a monthly fee of $15, members can drop off up to five gallons of food scraps at a collection bin near the mall.
Among the things that can be composted: food waste, cooked; food waste, raw; coffee grounds/filters; tea bags; meat, fish, bones; eggshells, nut shells, nuts, pits; dairy products; non-dairy alternatives; baked goods and grains; paper towels; 100 percent paper products (soiled); pizza boxes; BPI-certified products; natural fibers/products; 100 percent cork; 100 percent silk; 100 percent cotton; 100 percent wood; yard waste; flowers; and plant trimmings.
Among the things you can’t compost: pet droppings; excessive liquids; plastics (including wrappers); metals; and glass.
“For people who may have considered composting at home but don’t have the space, resources or time, this program is an easy alternative,” CCES executive director Susan Monte said. “What’s great about our partner, WasteNot, is that they accept any type of food scrap that can be composted — even bones, dairy, breads and pasta. These materials are difficult to compost at home because they require very high, sustained temperatures to break down properly. We want to make it easy for poeple to compost.”
The compostable material from the Urbana dropoff program is taken by WasteNot’s 100 percent electric fleet to EPA-permitted composting facilities.
Sign up for the service here.