The food scraps recycling drop-off program at the South Madison Farmers’ Market and the Eastside Farmers’ Market on Tuesday evenings have been a success.

Since the drop-off program began on June 14, the drop-offs have collected 1,444 pounds of food scraps for composting. That’s about a hundred pounds under the combined weight for the starting offensive line for the Green Bay Packers. Considering the scraps are egg shells, coffee grounds, apple cores, and similar materials – that is impressive.

And for all the weight collected so far, we can certainly accept more.

If you have been considering composting your food scraps, you can start today.

Start Food Scraps Recycling Today!
The markets will be accepting food scraps today (July 19) and they will be available every Tuesday at the market location until September 27, 2022.

The South Madison Farmers’ Market is located at 1602 South Park Street and it accepts food scraps from 2:00pm to 6:00pm on Tuesdays.

The Eastside Farmers’ Market is located at 202 S. Ingersoll Street and it accepts food scraps from 4:00pm to 7:00pm on Tuesdays.

You can learn more about their locations and the acceptable food scraps at www.cityofmadison.com/FoodScraps. Information about the program is also available at the market booths.

Free Containers at the Market Sites
Folks who wish to participate in the food scraps drop-off program can pick up a free small bucket from the food scraps drop-off booths at the Tuesday evening Eastside and South Madison farmers' market.

The bucket can be a handy place to store food scraps until it’s time to bring them to the market. And it is small enough to sit on your countertop or slip under the kitchen sink.

Worried About Smells?
If you have space in your fridge or freezer, you can store your food scraps in those cooler locations prior to dropping them off.

After emptying the container at one of the weekly drop-off sites, remember to wash it out with soap and water. This, too, will help prevent smells.

Additional Information
More details about food scraps composting, and how to prevent creating food scraps, go to www.cityofmadison.com/FoodScraps.