By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
As sustainability coordinator for Bowling Green, Amanda Gamby has found that city residents have high expectations for Earth Day – and every other day of the year.
City residents are passionate about their recycling, and they treasure the urban forest program.
“The majority of our residents expect that,” Gamby said.
They applaud the fact that 40% of the city’s energy comes from renewable energy sources, compared to the average in the state of 3% for other communities.
“That’s something we should really be proud of,” Gamby said.
Bowling Green recently added one more green initiative – food waste composting.
Last year Bowling Green expanded its curbside recycling program as part of the goal to divert more waste from the landfill.
“Then we had to look at ways to divert more waste,” she said. “Food waste is a big one.”
The composting program, which kicked off on March 26, accepts a wide range of items – from meat and potatoes to greasy pizza boxes and coffee filters.
“It’s going amazingly well,” Gamby said.
In fact, the amount of food waste being dropped off for composting quickly surpassed expectations. The company contracted for the composting – GoZero – had placed six 64-gallon containers at the composting drop-off site on Friday, March 26.
“On Monday, I was calling them telling them we would need extra bins,” Gamby said.
So the number of containers was boosted to 10.
And residents are putting the right items into the food waste containers. The only item that has had to be pulled out so far was a plastic bag holding potatoes.
“Folks who are going to put rotting food in a bucket and drive it out to the site are committed,” and tend to follow the rules, Gamby said. “It’s great to see it play out.”
Because Bowling Green already has a lot of backyard composters, Gamby did get a series of phone calls questioning the ability of the city to take items like meat and dairy – which are normally not suitable for small composting operations.
“GoZero is able to accommodate a wider list of compost materials than backyard composting,” Gamby said.
The city has given away bright green five-gallon buckets to about 250 residents expressing interest in the food waste composting. Nearly 100 buckets are still available. Those buckets, plus food waste from any residents may be placed at no charge in the bright green bins located behind the Public Works garage, near the public Yard Waste Drop Off, on Tarragon Drive. Anyone interested in a bucket may call Gamby at 419-354-6222 or email sustainability@bgohio.org.
Since Earth Day activities are curtailed again this year due to COVID-19, Gamby is focusing on educating local residents on “what you can do everyday” to help the earth.
The city’s newsletter this week offers information on the city’s use of renewable energy, and advice on how to schedule a home energy audit.
Residents are invited to join park naturalists on wildflower and bird walks, learn about native plants, and participate in the city’s tree photo contest.
There are tips on recycling, and conserving water and energy, plus information on a litter loan box volunteer program.
