Our Neighbors Keep Food Scraps Out of the Landfill. Saline Can Too.

A banana peel or a plate of leftovers seems too small to matter. But when food scraps are buried in a landfill, they break down without oxygen and produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Over 100 years, methane traps about 28 times more heat than carbon dioxide. Over 20 years, its warming effect is about 80 times greater. epa.gov

Food scraps break down quickly in landfills. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that food waste accounted for 58 percent of the methane emissions that escaped from municipal landfills in 2020. Some landfills collect methane, but their systems don’t capture it all. EPA source

Composting offers another path. It turns what we throw away into a resource that nourishes gardens, parks, and farms.

Across our area, communities are already keeping food scraps out of landfills. Scio Township has its own food-scrap pilot. Washtenaw County’s pilot serves residents in Ypsilanti, Dexter, and Salem Township, and Ann Arbor offers curbside compost collection. Their experience shows us what will work here in Saline. I live in Saline, but I joined Dexter’s pilot. Every week I carry my kitchen scraps to their drop-off.

We can’t change every national or state decision. But we can come together here in Saline and take practical steps to reduce our footprint. A local food-scrap program would keep useful material out of the landfill, support healthier soil, and show our children and grandchildren that caring for the future begins close to home.

Small steps, taken together, become an example for the next generation.