Providence Pulls Up Its Bootstraps to Reduce Wasting Food Scrap

By Rob Smith ecoRI News staff

Transforming food scrap into compost is a vital step in saving space in the Central Landfill and creating nutrient-rich soil. (Grace Kelly/ecoRI News)

PROVIDENCE — Composting could be the key to prolonging the lifespan of the Central Landfill in Johnston. The 154-acre waste disposal site, which serves 97 percent of the state, is expected to reach its capacity by 2034, according to the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, the quasi-public agency that manages the landfill. Strategies for replacing the landfill are few and far between. No other municipality has offered to host a new landfill, and expanding the Johnston site would be expensive.

In the meantime, state officials are encouraging food-scrap diversion to extend the working life of the Central Landfill, as 32 percent of all municipal solid waste sent to Shun Pike is food waste, compostable paper products, and yard debris. Diverting these materials through composting could save 90,000 tons of waste annually from being buried in Rhode Island’s main landfill.