Save The Food: Cooking Up a Food Waste Prevention Campaign for Tompkins County Kat McCarthy, Waste Reduction and Recycling Specialist

Tompkins County Compost Education program with CCE Commercial Composting partnership 2011 – Compost & recycling support program at multifamily dwellings Residential Food Scraps Recycling drop spot 2013 – Launched first pilot curbside collection

NYS Pollution Prevention Institute Community Grants Program Supports projects that raise awareness and understanding of pollution prevention behaviors Grant Timeline Applied October 2014 Received November 2014 Began implementing in 2015 Funding provided by the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute through a grant from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Environmental Conservation

Project Overview Benchmarking Research Film Screening Social Media Campaign School Presentations Food Waste Prevention Challenge

Benchmarking Sources: –EPA’s Food Too Good To Waste –UK’s Love Food, Hate Waste –Webinars and Reports Tips & Tools –Keep messaging simple –Target a few, simple behaviors –Smart Shopping Guide –Food Storage Guide & Infograph Opportunities –Young, full-time workers –Families with children Pilots demonstrate average 25% decrease in waste after implementation

Film Screening Goals Increase awareness about food waste Generate community conversation Partnerships Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival FDN NYSP2I

Social Media Campaign Goals Encourage food waste prevention Highlight success stories Network, build community, motivate behavior change Tips Post regularly Include pictures, graphics, and videos Consider seasonality

School Presentations Module for existing tours & presentations Adapted by grade level Discussion about food waste –Reduction –Implications –Tips to avoid Activity: “Eat First” box

Food Waste Prevention Challenge For food scraps recycling drop spot users Community based social marketing Material weigh-in Handouts and tools Focus: –Smart Shopping –Smart Prep –Smart Storage

Key Elements Fold into existing programs Community based social marketing Partner to increase reach

Lessons Learned Plan ahead –Think about how data will be collected Develop partnerships Keep things simple Be engaging –Have a clear ‘ask’ –Provide new content periodically

Thanks To: NYSP2I US EPA Friendship Donations Network Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival Emma Frisch Flourish Designs Tom Hoebbel

Thank you Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Division