PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Community Foundation (PCCF) is taking steps to eliminate food waste from the Summit County landfill.
In June 2024, the foundation began its Zero Food Waste program. Its goal is to divert all of Park City's food waste by the year 2030. “We look at issues when we are trying to solve the greatest challenges in our community,” said Andy Hecht, the climate fund manager at the Park City Community Foundation.
Food in landfills is problematic for several reasons. “It does not turn into soil inside a landfill,” Hecht described. “It sits there and it rots for years and years and emits methane – a potent greenhouse gas.” Methane is harmful to the environment and contributes to climate change. Food waste also takes up valuable space.
Through the Zero Food Waste program, Park City residents can request a special bin from Momentum Recycling in which they can discard compostable items. Then, it is picked up and transported to a digester where it can be converted into natural gas or compost.
Hecht is thrilled with the community support. He estimates that 800 bins have been distributed since June. That equates to a big win for the environment and landfill. “We have been calculating, just in the infancy of the program, we are pushing $100,000 in savings at the landfill,” said Tim Loveday, the superintendent of solid waste for Summit County.
The foundation estimates the effort by the community has eliminated 18.1 tons of methane so far. If the goal of zero waste by 2030 is met, it will leave a more profound impact. “If we can divert the food space, we double the life of the landfill,” Loveday said. “That’s a big deal to the taxpayers.”
For its efforts, the Park City Community Foundation’s Zero Food Waste program was honored with the Smith’s Zero Waste Hero award for January. Hecht hopes the initiative spreads throughout the county and to other communities across the state.
Learn more about the Zero Food Waste program here.
