Arlington County Government, VA Most Recent, 8 Sep 2021

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From YouTube: How to use your Food Scrap Caddy

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For more information go to recycling.arlingtonva.us

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Arlington is going even greener, with the program to collect and recycle food scraps and turn it into compost. This program will even help reduce carbon emissions, as well as prevent valuable resources from going to incineration.

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I'm also going to talk about the food waste caddy and how to properly use it as well as what to do on trash day. Finally, we'll also talk about how to avoid the yuck factor.

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Arlington residents will receive a food caddy for collection of food scraps, a roll of compostable bags and educational material to help explain the program. First, let's talk about the caddy, the caddy has a handle that helps you be able to carry it outside when necessary. It also has a lid that seals.

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It holds the compostable bags two and a half gallons, and it's very convenient to either keep it on your counter, or you can put it under your sink or even in the freezer. If you'd like, you could also use your own caddy, if you prefer, when using the kitchen caddy most likely you'd like to use a bag, you can use either one of the county provided bags that are compostable or you can use a paper bag. You could also purchase a bag of your choosing, as long as it is compostable here are some recommended reading.

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If you are new to composting, this information is also available online. Just follow the link.

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Whenever I start cooking, I always start by getting my caddy. I keep it underneath the sink here and I bring it out on the counter, and I put it next to me, where I'm chopping up vegetables or doing any of my fruit prep everything that I'm using here to cook with I can throw into the caddy, assuming that I'm not going to eat it. Of course you don't want to put in labels or stickers. Those definitely need to go into the trash.

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Also, I have some old taco shells here that are stale. Unfortunately- and I can't use them so I can actually put these into the composter also, so I'm going to throw these in here, make sure you don't throw in packaging, but any remnants of sauces you can put into the food caddy.

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Now you need to store your caddy in a convenient location that could be either on your countertop underneath your sink. It could actually even be in your freezer. You just want to make sure that the lid is secured tightly just to prevent any odor issues when your caddy is full. All you need to do is take the bag out, whatever bag you have in there make sure that you secure it tightly just like a trash bag, and you take it out to your green cart.

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When the caddy gets dirty, all you need to do is wash it with soap and water, or you can put it in the dishwasher.

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On your trash collection day, you simply roll your green cart to the curb, with your yard trimmings and your food scraps together, and they will be collected on your regular trash collection day. Just as normal.

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Okay, we get it. Composting can be a little bit yucky, but there are ways that you can minimize it or avoid it altogether tip number one line: the caddy or bag with paper towel or newspaper. This will prevent liquids from pulling at the bottom of the caddy. Making cleanup easier tip number two regularly clean your caddy with soap and water or run it through the dishwasher after you empty it out tip number three: keep the caddy closed and emptied regularly.

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Thank you for participating in the program and helping to make arlington even greener. If you have any questions about the program, please refer to the printed materials in your caddy or you can visit our website at recycle.arlingtonva.us.

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