Additional Food Waste Workshops Scheduled in Puyallup

Pierce County will offer three additional food waste workshops on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 to allow residents and businesses to weigh-in on options for managing and reducing food waste.

These workshops, like 15 others held over the past three months, allow attendees to learn why food waste is a problem, what the county is doing about food waste, and about options for managing it.

The additional food waste workshops have been scheduled as follows:
• Oct. 30, 6-8 p.m. at the Puyallup Public Library, 324 S. Meridian
• Nov. 1, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pierce College – Puyallup (College Center building), 1601 39th Ave. SE
• Nov. 1, 6-8 p.m. at Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW

Attendees will be asked to comment via a survey at the end of the workshop. A virtual workshop is also available at www.piercecountywa.org/foodwaste.

"These open house-style workshops are not just for homeowners," said Rick Johnston, Public Works and Utilities solid waste project coordinator. "Restaurants, grocery stores and other commercial businesses play a role in the amount of food that enters our waste stream, and they may be impacted by these options. Our goal is to find an effective and reasonable way to manage our food waste that fits the needs of our community."

Options under consideration
Pierce County recently completed a year-long study of available options to manage and reduce food waste. Three options were considered reasonable for Pierce County to pursue:

• Waste Reduction
Increase public education programs to prevent food waste from being generated in the first place.

• Collection and Composting
Collect food waste from homes and/or businesses to produce compost or fertilizer.

• Energy Recovery
Dispose of some, or all, food waste in order to generate landfill gas and recover energy from that gas.

The workshops will allow attendees to discuss and compare the options with Pierce County staff. The workshop survey feedback will be reviewed and used to develop best management practices for managing and reducing food waste. A recommendation will be presented to the Pierce County Council in the coming months.

Information provided by Pierce County