Rising Tide Community Market is hosting a talk with Ryan Kenyon, Lincoln County Recycling Center’s Composting Coordinator, on Earth Day (Wednesday, April 22). Anyone interested in learning more about Lincoln County’s efforts to compost food scraps and yard waste is invited to attend this informative and engaging presentation at 5:30 p.m. in the FARMS Community Kitchen, located upstairs from Rising Tide at 323 Main Street in Damariscotta.

The Lincoln County Recycling Center has collected leaves and other yard waste for years, and last year began a pilot program in Wiscasset for composting food scraps too. Thanks to the program’s early success, there are plans to expand and provide food scrap collection sites at more transfer stations county-wide, including Nobleboro and Waldoboro. The Recycling Center also encourages home and on-farm composting.

“Ryan is super enthusiastic about the compost program he’s coordinating, and Rising Tide is eager to help spread the word. We’re holding this event on Earth Day because composting organic matter has a big impact environmentally,” said Rising Tide’s Leslie Wicks.

Food scraps comprise a significant portion of food waste — according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, in 2012 14.5 percent of municipal solid waste was food scraps and another 13.5 percent was organic materials from yard trimmings.

Municipal composting programs work for a community on multiple levels: reducing the amount of waste going into landfills, reclaiming nutrients from organic waste, providing a way for residents to compost when they are unable to do so in their own yards, and providing revenue for the municipality when the mature compost is sold. Stop by on Earth Day to learn more!

For more information about this event, contact Leslie at Rising Tide Community Market at 207-563-5556 or email customercare@risingtide.coop. For questions about the composting program or recycling in Lincoln County, contact the recycling center at 207-882-5276 or recycling@lincolncountymaine.me.