Leesburg begins composting Program for town residents

The Town of Leesburg is offering a sustainable solution for residential food waste disposal.

Beginning Monday, Dec. 2, Town residents may utilize a food waste drop-off site at the Liberty Street
parking lot. The site will be available 24/7. The pilot program provides Town residents with a sustainable way to dispose of food scraps and keep food waste from the trash stream.

Composting in lieu of trashing food scraps reduces methane (a greenhouse gas emission associated with organic matter) in the landfill and instead creates organic material that provides many essential nutrients for plant growth. This helps strengthen the soil structure and limits the need for fertilizer, which can damage streams and rivers during run off. Healthy soil can also become a “carbon sink” which absorbs and stores greenhouse gas emissions from the atmosphere.

The new service is free to use. Town residents simply transport their materials to the drop-off site and empty them into the bins. Food should either be either dumped directly into bins or, if using a bag to
transport scraps, make sure it is compostable (BPI or OMRI certified only). Containers should not be left at the compost site. Please only place the food in the bins to help keep the area clean and do not leave bags of food waste around the drop off site.

This site is for residential food waste only. Since the materials are being composted commercially, meat, dairy and other items that would not be suitable for backyard composting can be processed through this service. Yard waste, recycling, or trash should not be brought to this site. Information about yard waste, trash, and recycling collection schedules can be found on the Town website, www.leesburgva.gov.

Monster Organics is the contractor responsible for collecting and processing the food waste from the drop off site. Each week the company will empty the full bins into their truck, wash the bins, and add new compostable liners.

“We understand the value of recycling, and it is a great choice for our plastics, metals, and paper but it
still takes energy to sort, process, and make those things new. Composting prevents emissions from happening,” stated Sustainability Manager Deb Moran. “By offering this free Residential Composting Program as a tool for our residents, I am hopeful we can reduce our impact on the environment.”

The Liberty Street parking lot is located at 204 Liberty Street SW. More information about the composting program, including items eligible and not eligible for composting, can be found online at www.leesburgva.gov/composting. A Live in Leesburg segment on the new composting program is
scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 20, on the Town’s Facebook page.