Grow Amsterdam is turning kitchen scraps into fresh food, with the help of their new composting equipment. The organization was founded in 2016 to beautify Amsterdam, and manage green space. The group, which is largely volunteer-based, quickly went to work, and transformed an empty lot at the corner of Wall Street and Green Street into a community garden.
Last year, they applied for a $6,000 line of credit from the Community Loan Fund to implement a new composting program, which is being funded by a Community Grant from the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute.
The line of credit was used to purchase composting equipment, pay wages, and produce education materials. The program is currently accepting food scraps from the community and will educate the public about the impact of diverting food waste from the landfill through a series of trainings.
Composting can remove up to 40% of waste from landfills. It also reduces methane emissions and improves soil quality.
The program will also provide education on creating your own compost system.
The next webinar on composting will be held on August 29. More information is available here.
The organization is already seeing good returns on the $6,000 loan — including fresh zucchinis, tomatoes, and flowers.
