For the last month, Director Angela Fox has been running a weekly compost program at the downtown Muskegon farmers market, allowing people to drop off their food scraps for a fee. <\/p>\n
\u201cOut of all the wicked problems related to sustainability, food waste is one of the easier problems to solve,\u201d Fox said, mentioning more complex environmental problems like air and water quality. <\/p>\n
Fox has a stand under a green umbrella each week at the center of the farmers market where people drop off food waste: food scraps including dairy, meat and bones. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re allowing a pathway for residents to not landfill food,\u201d Fox said. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping this is a stepping stone to more sustainability efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Muskegon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/X2JFYIZQDRFGDLI2VNFKW2RYFE.jpg\"\/)
Green Michigan Director Angela Fox, right, holds open a composting bin for a participant dumping food waste at the Muskegon Farmers Market.Photo provided to MLive by Angela Fox<\/p>\n
The booth is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. The farmer\u2019s market is located at 242 W. Western Ave.<\/p>\n
People drop off their food scraps in a variety of containers; five-gallon buckets, paper bags and compostable bags. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t care if it\u2019s mixed together, we don\u2019t care if it smells,\u201d Fox said. \u201cSometimes you\u2019re going to get creepy crawlies – we don\u2019t care about that either.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever you get it to us is however you get it to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Except plastic. <\/p>\n
Fox said her steadfast rule is \u201cno plastic,\u201d which can show up mixed in people\u2019s food scraps and creates more labor for the recycling process. <\/p>\n
Accepted items include: <\/p>\n
FruitsVegetables Meats BonesDairyPersonal care products (cotton swabs, toilet paper, paper towel, face tissue)Yard wasteBPI-certified dinnerwareLeftoversPaper productsCoffee and tea grounds <\/p>\n
Unaccepted items include: <\/p>\n
Plastic and produce bagsPet wasteNon-certified dinnerwareTea bagsProduce stickers<\/p>\n
In a previous job, Fox said she started a free composting program for the community in Royal Oak and said the biggest obstacle was contamination – people putting things in the bins that are not compostable, like plastic.<\/p>\n
In that, she saw a small fee as a way of avoiding some of that neglect. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you attach money, it adds value,\u201d Fox said. \u201cPeople see the value and do take it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox said she is paying out of pocket for all supplies and to pay the composting company, Organacycle, for four months – a pilot test of the program. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we can cover our costs by the end of those four months, and if I can have one Saturday off a month, then maybe we can make it a permanent addition to the market,\u201d Fox said, adding that it costs about $1,000 per month to operate. <\/p>\n
Fox has had three volunteers sign up so far and is welcoming more. Anyone 12 and older can sign up.<\/p>\n
Volunteers who work a three-hour shift get free composting for the month.<\/p>\n
It costs $3 for a one-time drop off of up to two five-gallon buckets worth of food waste.<\/p>\n
For $10 a month, people can drop off as many times as they want, which Fox said has been utilized by people who come to the farmers market every week. <\/p>\n
Green Michigan has applied for grants through the Muskegon Community Foundation and the state. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hoping to get funding to make this a free program or, at least. reduce the cost,\u201d Fox said.<\/p>\n
From the people she\u2019s spoken to, Fox said not many are signed up for the city\u2019s free recycling program. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere just hasn\u2019t been the demand or it\u2019s not simple enough for people to sign up,\u201d Fox said. <\/p>\n
However, Fox has found a lot of \u201cbackyard composters\u201d in Muskegon.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a good surprise,\u201d Fox said. \u201cOur program can supplement that with the things they can\u2019t put in their pile – meat, dairy, bones.\u201d<\/p>\n
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