Food Scraps are the Soil-ution!
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The Third in our “Climate Action Series” is co-presented by Transition Town Port Washington and Landmark on Main Street. This event will be live streamed on Zoom. No in-person attendance will be available.
Did you know that that compost filters out urban stormwater pollutants by an estimated 60 - 95%? Additionally, when food scraps are converted to compost and added back to the land, biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of the soil improve immensely. Each year, the Port Washington/ Manhasset Peninsula trucks tens of thousands of tons of household food scraps mixed with garbage to landfills or incinerators, usually located in communities of color who suffer dearly from the water and air pollution. If everyone composted their food scraps instead of throwing them in the garbage, up to 20% of our waste would go toward regenerating the earth and improving the quality of life for our neighbors on Long Island.
Join the Conversation! Learn about successful food scrap recycling programs in communities like Scarsdale, NY, community composting happening right here in Port Washington, and efforts to close the Brookhaven Landfill. Moderated by Transition Town PW co-founder, Paul Merkelson followed by audience Q&A.
PANELISTS
Monique Fitzgerald is a climate justice organizer with Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group. Monique is a tribal member of the Setalcott Nation, a nation traditionally based on the north shore of Suffolk County. She was born and raised in North Bellport. Her past work has been at the grassroots level, organizing and advocating for the North Bellport community and communities with similar socioeconomic demographics. The link between the work in her home community of North Bellport and environmental justice is with the organizing efforts to close and remediate the Brookhaven landfill, a landfill that has plagued her community for nearly 50 years. She fights alongside community members and allies to reject the idea that there is an "away". Instead, she and her community fight for the way to reduce waste for a just society. As a person living in a community on the front line of the climate crisis, Monique brings first-hand experience of what climate justice is not and what it could be.
Michelle Sterling and Ron Schulhof are two of Scarsdale's (NY) most active community leaders. Over the last five years, they have been instrumental in launching sustainability initiatives throughout the community.
Michelle serves as co-chair of the Scarsdale Forum Sustainability Committee, a member of the Conservation Advisory Council, member of the Food Scrap Recycling Committee, member of the LED Streetlight Committee, member of the Forum Board of Directors and Executive Board, chair of the Scarsdale Middle School PTA Sustainability Committee, and member of the Scarsdale Middle School Compact Committee. Michelle has also served on the Citizens Nominating Committee, Procedure Committee, as PT Council Sustainability Chair and as chair of the Greenacres PTA Sustainability Committee.
Ron serves as Chair of the Conservation Advisory Council, a member of the Food Scrap Recycling Committee, a member of the LED Streetlight Committee, a member of the Forum Sustainability Committee and Forum Board of Directors, a member of the Citizens Nominating Committee, chair of PT Council Sustainability, Quaker Ridge PTA Sustainability Committee and a member of the School District Sustainability Committee.
Claire Brezel is a co-founder and board member of Transition Town Port Washington. Her main interests lie in diverting food and plastics from the waste stream with local solutions that reduce, recycle, or repurpose. She launched and operates the TTPW Community Composting demonstration site at the Science Museum of Long Island and hopes to create more community composting "hubs" around town. Along with friend and TTPW co-founder, Paul Merkelson, she is working on developing a municipal "food scrap to soil - ution" for Port Washington.
The Conversations from Main Street Climate Action Series is co-presented with Landmark on Main Street with the goal of introducing community-centered climate solutions while also promoting individual action. Small changes to our daily routines can have lasting and impact on our environment and future. Watch this space for more info & sign-up links for these programs.
