FRP Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - For Participants
If you are reading through this page after January, 2022, please disregard all references to weighing materials or survey submissions. This is no longer required.
Q: What is accepted?
A: All food, Beans, Bones, Bread, Coffee Grounds & Filters, Dairy, Eggshells & Eggs, Food-Soiled Napkins & Paper Towels, Fruits, Grains, Meat, Pasta, Poultry, Rice, Seafood, Tea Bags (no staples), Vegetables
Q: Will participants be provided special receptacles to gather the food waste?
A: The collection container that we will provide is a sturdy 5 gallon pail with a tight lid. Residents will likely use something smaller in their kitchen to collect food scraps and then dump the contents of that smaller container into the pail as often as they find convenient. We assume that most will keep the pail indoors.
Q: Will mice, rats etc. be attracted to this container if kept in garage?
A: We spoke with colleagues in a state that already has this program and purchased the container and lid that they recommended. Since the container is heavy duty and the lid is secure, they have received no such reports. However, we would definitely recommend that you take care of your container by keeping it clean and rinsed out regularly.
Q: We picked up our bucket and started putting food in it. What’s next?
A: 1) Continue the new routine that you have started of separating food trash from regular trash. Have you found it a challenge to retrain your habits? If so, you’re not alone, but please keep up the good work. 2) Prepare for next week’s survey submission. How? Record the weight of your household garbage before you toss that bag outside. It may be helpful to have a little pad next to your scale so that you can track the numbers. The food recycling bucket only gets weighed once; just before taking it to the center. 3) Complete the actual survey. When? To avoid double-reporting of information, please complete the survey once a week, on the same day that you empty your bucket at the recycling center.
Q: When can I dump my material at the Recycling Center?
A: You may go on any day that works best for your schedule. We are open from 8am – 3pm (closed Wednesdays / closed Sundays) and the address follows: Recycling Center, 203 East Glen Avenue (behind fire headquarters).
Q: I currently use my disposal to remove as much food waste as possible...Should I stop using sink disposal?
A: Many disposals are down-the-drain systems without any recovery, so we would prefer that you placed the items in your bucket instead. Fortunately, all the food waste that can go down the disposal (and more) is a great candidate for food recycling!
Q: Do you have to participate 9 consecutive months?
A: We realize that some participants may travel, even for several weeks at a time. That doesn't create any problem for us. In fact, you can indicate that on the weekly survey.
Q: What should I expect to see at home as I continue to participate?
A: 1) Awareness will increase: As you become aware of the amount of food that you put in your food recycling bucket, you will likely start to analyze where it’s coming from and why it’s getting recycled. Some things (banana peels, bones, eggshells) may not be preventable waste, but that isn’t true for everything. We expect that participants will learn to recognize habits that contribute to unnecessary food decay and preventable food waste. 2) Food waste will decrease: As participants recognize habits that contribute to food waste, they should become motivated to make adjustments. Examples of these adjustments may include: Learning how to properly store food so that it stays fresher longer, buying only what will be consumed, planning ahead for meals so as to utilize perishables that are on hand, recognizing the difference between ugly produce and recyclable produce.
3) Garbage will decrease: In New Jersey, food waste is estimated to make up approximately 22% of a household’s total garbage. By removing this from your trash, your garbage should decrease.
Q: Can I include ...
- . . . Paper bags? Tissues?
A: You can definitely use a brown paper bag to line your 5 gallon pail, but any additional paper bags should be recycled along with paper and cardboard at the curbside, just as we have always done. We can take food-soiled napkins and paper towels, but, please, no tissues. - . . . Biodegradable compost bags?
A: No biodegradable compost bags, please. - . . . Hard fruit pits, i.e. from avocados, peaches, etc.?
A: Yes, they are acceptable - . . . Meat/poultry, cooked or raw?
A: Cooked or raw, we can take it. - . . . Excess fat from meat?
A: Solid fat and skin that you trim away as you prep your meat before cooking it, or that you remove while eating is accepted. Renderings are not accepted. - . . . Seafood shells from crabs, clams, lobsters?
A: Absolutely, please put them in! - . . . Used cooking oil and bacon grease?
A: No cooking oils, liquids or renderings please. - . . . Butter or grease?
A: We can take food cooked in butter or grease. Similarly, a buttered roll that is not consumed can be recycled. Please just don’t pour renderings or cooking oil into the bucket. - . . . A greasy pizza box?
A: No pizza boxes, please. If your pizza box is grease and oil free, as well as completely empty, it can be recycled with your cardboard. Similarly, if the bottom is greasy, one could rip the box apart at the hinge, throw the greasy bottom section in the garbage, and recycle the clean lid with cardboard recycling. - . . . Pet food (canned, fresh or dry)?
A: We are not accepting pet food.
Q: Where is the weekly survey link and how often should it be completed?
A: Click Here for the Weekly Survey. This should be completed at least once each week on the same day that you deliver your food to the recycling center.
Q: Why does the survey ask for the weight of my trash and not just the weight of my food?
A: To evaluate the impact of our program and whether or not we should expand it, we need the ability to calculate the impact that food recycling has on overall household trash. To do so, we ask the two questions (one for food weight and the second for trash weight). We greatly appreciate everyone who told us that they are willing to weigh their trash and food. Please use your luggage or bathroom scale, to the best of your ability, to obtain your weights.
Q: How much does the empty bucket weigh?
A: With the lid attached, it weighs 3.3 pounds. Please remember to subtract the weight of the bucket from your food recycling total weight.
Q: My household stated on our application that we would only be willing to estimate our material. What numbers should we use?
A: We also accepted a small number of households who will be estimating their material. For now, please use these formulas.
Estimate trash @ 1.3 pounds (lbs) per person per day. Therefore, Trash = 1.3 pounds x (# of People in Household) x (# of Days in Reporting Period) - OR - With a calculator, multiply 1.3 times the # of people in your home times the number of days that you are calculating.
Estimate food @ 0.4 pounds (lbs) per person per day. Therefore, Food = 0.4 pounds x (# of People in Household) x (# of Days in Reporting Period) - OR - With a calculator, multiply 0.4 times the # of people in your home times the number of days that you are calculating.
Q: How did you come up with the formula used by people who are estimating their trash and their food?
A: We started with the total weight of household trash that Ridgewood collected in calendar year 2020. Using census data, we broke it down to a weight per capita per day and used the NJDEP calculation that "22% of the municipal solid waste stream in New Jersey is food waste". (https://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/foodwasteplan.pdf)
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