From scraps to soil

After this year’s Super Bowl, our trash can overflowed with spoiled guacamole, pizza crusts, and half-eaten chicken wings. This was true for many households across Bellaire, and it was unsettling to imagine the amount of food that would end up rotting in a landfill. But I knew our city was on the brink of transforming these scraps into something beneficial for our planet.

As a teenager in Texas, the effects of global warming are challenging to escape. I worry that rising greenhouse gases will increase the frequency of torrential hurricanes, scorching summers, and unexpected freezes. The deterioration of our ozone is a continuous threat to our health and well-being.

My passion for the environment started at a young age and drove me to engage in my community. While collaborating with Bellaire’s Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB), I was surprised to discover that food waste is a major contributor to methane emissions and the largest component of home trash in landfills. In the U.S., approximately 40 percent of food is wasted annually, amounting to over 400 pounds of trash per household.

Fortunately, Zero Waste Houston (ZWH) is bringing an innovative solution to Bellaire. Giles Dunn, Elena Diiorio and other ESB members are at the forefront of piloting this food recycling program, which kicked off in March and continues through April 20. Residents can collect their food waste each week during the program and then bring it every Sunday for drop off to ZWH at the Condit Elementary parking lot on South Rice. ZWH will recycle the food scraps into compost ensuring a seamless system for reducing trash. The best part? Almost all leftovers, including meat, bones, produce, etc., can be composted.

With over 17,000 residents in Bellaire, this initiative has the potential to make a monumental impact towards a cleaner environment. Houston and West University have already implemented food recycling, and I’m enthusiastic about Bellaire doing the same. Now when I save my browning fruit rinds and over-ripening peels, I feel a sense of hope for not only reducing waste, but also for giving back to Mother Earth in the same way she nourishes us.

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