FREE FOOD WASTE DROP-OFF
MOBILE MARKET
Food waste is a valuable commodity.
What do bruised apples, limp kale, and too much zucchini have in common? They’re food items that might end up in a dumpster, but with a little extra effort, they can go a long way toward alleviating hunger. Island Grown Initiative’s efforts to reduce food waste and feed more people on Martha’s Vineyard take many forms.
Feed animals
Our chickens and pigs love feasting on produce that isn’t quite fresh enough for human consumption but contains plenty of nutrients. This rich and varied diet lessens the need for commercial feed, and results in healthier animals and eggs.
Compost
The 45’ in-vessel composter at Island Grown Initiative’s farm is not your ordinary compost operation. It weighs 13 tons, and can transform food waste into nutrient-rich compost three times faster than the average home compost pile. Which is a good thing, because the IGI Farm processed 3,080,000 pounds of food waste from 2018 through 2023!
Restaurant food waste
IGI collaborates with Bruno’s Rolloff and the MV Refuse District on a pick-up system for food waste at restaurants, caterers, camps, and other food establishments. Separating food waste from trash cuts down on disposal costs, diverts food from landfills, and helps enrich the Island’s soil. It’s a win-win. To sign up your business, contact Brunos at 508-693-5454.
Home compost
All those banana peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, and onion skins? They still have nutrients, and composting is a great way to return them to the soil. Every bit that you don’t throw away benefits the Island with enriched soil and lower trash disposal costs.
Free, easy-to-use countertop compost buckets are available at IGI’s offices in West Tisbury and at town transfer stations. To request a compost bucket, email office@igimv.org or call 508-687–9062 for information.
Where to bring it?
If you don’t have your own compost bin at home, you can empty your household food waste buckets for free at IGI’s farm or pay $2 per 5-gallon bucket at all the town transfer stations. Note: All household food waste is accepted for free in Edgartown, West Tisbury and Chilmark.
If you’re going to save your home food scraps to be composted, it’s important to know what’s good and what isn’t. View this helpful chart or read the EPA's recommendations.
Food waste collaboration
Each year, about 6,500 tons of food is shipped as garbage off Martha’s Vineyard. In 2020 alone, it cost Vineyard towns $720,000 to transport and dispose of this wasted food. Many partners work with us to reduce food waste and promote food recycling into compost to restore our Island soils, including:
Island-Wide Organics Waste Management Committee
The Martha’s Vineyard Food Waste Initiative seeks to reduce food waste on the Island by 50% by 2030. The group works with Islanders in every town to create the infrastructure to process Island food waste and have a pilot food waste collection program with free residential food waste drop-off locations all over the Island.