Support the loop!

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Posted on December 13, 2013

by Kim Mercer

Save the world. One banana peel at a time.
The EPA estimates that 36 billion tons of food is wasted each year in the U.S. and a remarkable 96% of that gets dumped in our landfills, where the decomposition process creates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Dear Friend & Supporter of Highfields,

For the past twelve years, Highfields Center for Composting has been working with farmers, business owners, waste districts, schools and communities throughout  the state in developing organic food scrap recycling practices to help reduce the amount of waste ending up in the landfills. We all know this is a good idea!

But our work here in Vermont is far from done. We continue to work directly with local communities and its members to help shape the future of food recycling. At Highfields, we work every day to Close the Loop on sustainable agriculture. As a small nonprofit organization based in Hardwick, Vermont, we work with all kinds of organizations–schools, municipalities, restaurants, offices, event organizers, and manufacturers–to separate and collect food scraps and other organic waste. We also work with waste haulers, waste districts, and truckers to aggregate and transport those food scraps to an appropriate composting sites throughout the state. Finally, we work with farmers, soil scientists, and waste districts to convert those food scraps into valuable compost, which in turn is used for growing more food for our communities and beyond.

You might say we're experts in the business of community composting programs.

Just this past year we helped prevent over 16,000 tons of food scraps from going into Vermont landfills through our work within the local communities and with our many business partners. And we instructed over 800 Vermont students on how to separate their food scraps, along with the importance of composting in school based programming with innovative programs we bring directly to them.

But there's still so much more to do. The EPA estimates that 36 billion tons of food is wasted each year in the U.S. and a remarkable 96% of that gets dumped in our landfills, where the decomposition process creates harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Just this past year we helped prevent over 16,000 tons of food scraps from going into Vermont landfills.

We welcome and need your support to continue the work you so personally value. In 2014, we want to reach more farmers and students to help build and strengthen Vermont's agricultural economy through our Close the Loop program.

Jim Davis To do this we need tour help. Please consider a tax-deductible gift of $25 or more this year. And as a thank you, we'll give you a voucher to participate in our one-hour “Extreme Home Composting” webinar where you will learn everything you need to know about the best practices, tips, and tricks for making effective compost at home.

But most of all, drop us a line. We would enjoy hearing about your story on how you, your family or community is closing the loop on food scrap recycling!

All the best,

Jim Davis
Executive Director