Chattanooga residents will soon have a permanent, citywide option to keep food scraps out of landfills after a nine-month pilot program diverted nearly 98,000 pounds of food waste. The pilot, funded by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Organics Management Grant, included 669 households participating in curbside and drop-off food collection.
During the trial period, participants diverted 97,746.96 pounds of food waste from landfill disposal. Under a new long-term agreement, any Chattanooga household will be able to use drop-off kiosks at no cost.
Residents must enroll by signing up online, after which a representative from NewTerra Compost will provide educational materials and instructions on how to participate. Kiosks will be located at all five of the city’s recycling centers, and residents will also be able to use NewTerra’s existing drop-off locations.