Recipient Organization
PRINCETON
400 WITHERSPOON ST
PRINCETON,NJ 08542
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Food scraps are approximately one-fourth of Princeton's solid waste stream. Organic waste, like food scraps, that decomposes in a landfill produces methane. A potent greenhouse gas, methane traps heat in the atmosphere and is 30 times more damaging than CO2 on a 100-year time scale. However, food scraps are a valuable material if properly collected and composted or digested. Princeton is fortunate to be located near Trenton Renewables, an anaerobic digestion facility that converts food scraps into energy and soil amendments.The Municipality of Princeton and its residents are committed to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as shown by the successful pilot by launching a community-wide food scraps drop-off program. With this grant, Princeton will expand its pilot drop-off collection program from two to twelve food scrap drop sites around the Municipality and transport an estimated 156 tons of food scraps to Trenton Renewables annually. The overarching goal of Princeton's food scraps drop-off program is to equitably and sustainably divert residential food waste from the landfill. Careful consideration of drop site locations will ensure greater access and reduce barriers to participation. Drop sites will be free to all residents and will be located in locations where people live, work, and shop. All residents - homeowners, renters, and those residing in multi-family developments - will be encouraged to participate. Special consideration will be given to ensure participation by Princeton's vulnerable populations. Promotional materials, signs, and welcome kits will be provided in multiple languages, to invite participation by all.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of Princeton's food waste drop-off program is to divert residential food waste from the landfill equitably and sustainably.Supporting objectives include:Establish a program to divert an estimated 156 tons of food scraps per year from the landfill to the Trenton Renewables anaerobic digestion facility.This program will establish ten free food waste drop-off locations throughout the municipality. Last fall, Princeton launched a pilot program with two drop-off locations. Thus far, 168 registrants have registered for the two sites, and approximately 0.5 tons of food scraps are collected and transferred each week. This grant will allow for the expansion of this successful pilot. The additional ten sites will be selected by the Public Works Department, in consultation with project partners Sustainable Princeton and the Princeton Environmental Commission. Site selection will prioritize access to underserved populations and consider multi-family developments, affordable housing, public schools, private shopping centers, and other facilities within Princeton.Selected drop-off sites will be outfitted with one large all-weather shed containing two 64-gallon sealed waste carts. The sheds will be locked with a simple combination lock that is accessible to residents who register for the program, pass the quiz, and are randomly selected for the program. Drop-off sites will initially be limited to 100 registered participants each to manage material volume and potential contamination but will be expanded if capacity allows.Informational signage will be displayed on the sheds to help participants understand the program and comply with the list of acceptable food scrap items. Twice a week, the filled carts will be removed and replaced with clean empty carts by Municipal Public Works staff. Public Works staff will transport the filled carts to Trenton Renewables which is located less than 25 miles from the drop-off locations. The filled carts will be dropped off, and clean empty carts will be returned to Princeton.Princeton's Project Manager will collaborate with project partner Sustainable Princeton to provide education and outreach to community members prior to the sign-up/registration period, before the program launch, and ongoing throughout the program.Measure and publicize the emissions reductions by diverting food scraps from the landfill to the anaerobic digestion facility using the US Environmental Protection Agency's WARM tool and Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.Project Partner, Sustainable Princeton, uses the EPA's WARM tool to provide high-level estimates of the GHG emissions of food waste going to the landfill (baseline) compared to food waste diversion via anaerobic digestion. Emission reductions can be compared to seedlings grown or gallons of gasoline to help the public understand the impacts, using the EPA's Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.Landfill gas is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material in landfills and is composed of primarily of methane and CO2, in roughly equal parts. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas estimated to be 30 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat in the atmosphere on a 100-year time scale. Some landfills have implemented solutions to trap and utilize landfill gas; however, the EPA estimates that landfill-to-gas (LFG) energy projects only capture roughly 60 to 90 percent of the methane emitted from the landfill. Princeton's landfill, Fairless Landfill, is understood to flare the methane, rather than use any methane capture technology.The EPA's WARM tool (Version 15) predicts that for every 2.4 tons of food waste that are diverted from the landfill, our emissions are reduced by 15.5 MTCO2e (Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent). Clearly, the diversion of an estimated 156 tons per year can have a measurable and meaningful impact on Princeton's greenhouse gas emissions, and this project aims to publicize this impact.Ensure equitable participation in the program by making it free and accessible to Princeton's overburdened community members, affordable and multifamily housing developments, and non-English speaking residents.This program will be designed to achieve broad participation by the community, including Princeton's marginalized populations. The Municipality of Princeton has ties to our underserved communities through the Human Services, Human Resources, Affordable Housing, and Health Departments. The municipality also has a strong relationship with the Witherspoon Jackson Neighborhood Neighborhood Association, the Princeton Senior Resource Center, and the Princeton Housing Authority.The food scraps drop program will be free and available to all residents, including homeowners, renters, and those in multi-family developments who do not receive the municipality's solid waste services. Multiple sites will be located around the municipality within close proximity to different neighborhoods, including overburdened communities.Working with our partner, Sustainable Princeton, this program will utilize outreach materials in our community's major languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin). Active engagement in multiple languages through trusted community networks will be essential to achieve this objective.
Project Methods
Efforts to reach our target audiences will include notices in Princeton's newsletters, social media, and webpages, as well as those of its project partners. Princeton has identified approximately 1,200 residents interested in a food scraps program and can be directly contacted. Press coverage will also be a part of this effort to recruit new participants. Flyers at multifamily developments and local businesses and tabling at events is another way we will reach more residents. Princeton's Human Services, Affordable Housing, and Health departments can also do targeted outreach to Princeton's vulnerable communities. Finally, some sites will be in highly visible locations and have informational signage, which can increase program awareness. Throughout this outreach, the Program will create materials about the Food Scraps Program in Princeton's major languages (English, Spanish, and Mandarin).Evaluation will occur on an ongoing basis by the Program Manager and the members of Princeton's monthly Engineering, Infrastructure, and Operations meeting, organized by Municipal staff. The meeting includes the Public Works and Engineering Department, Council members, and Sustainable Princeton staff. This meeting will be where continuous improvement process discussion and action occur based on the near real-time data and feedback. Evaluated metrics include the number and location of registered participants, tonnage reports from each collection, contamination reports, site host, participant, municipal staff, and recycling facility feedback. An annual program evaluation will use a survey distributed to participants to collect quantitative and qualitative metrics. Tonnage and greenhouse gas emissions avoided will be collected and evaluated regularly.