Published: 1/6/2023 4:44:41 PM
Modified: 1/6/2023 4:41:47 PM
LEBANON — Food waste can now be disposed of free of charge at Lebanon’s solid waste facility.
Food scrap drop-off permits previously cost $15 a household, but as of the new year the city has torn off the price tag to incentivize the practice.
“Anytime we’re taking something and able to not landfill it, and to do something that’s of a benefit, that’s a great thing,” Solid Waste Manager Erica Douglas said.
Food scraps, after they are dropped off in compostable plastic or paper bags, are composted and used on site to grow grass to stabilize the side slopes of the landfill.
Food is the single largest category placed in municipal landfills, and rotting food waste has made landfills the third-highest emitter of methane gas in the country, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Lebanon is currently one of only a few municipalities with compost programs in New Hampshire. Nearby towns in New Hampshire and Vermont can utilize the city’s food scrap disposal program as well.
Follow this link for a full list of those towns: lebanonnh.gov/ 1514/Solid-Waste-Permits.