By John Tredrea, Special Writer
In the long term, the food waste recycling program that Lambertville may implement could wind up reducing the cost of running the city’s wastewater treatment plant, among other savings.
”We’re studying the possibility of turning food waste into bio-fuel that could help power the wastewater treatment plant,” said Julie Anne Hajdusek of the city’s environmental commission.
Ms. Hajdusek put together the grant application that landed the city a $10,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey. The grant money will be used to fund a pilot food waste recycling program.
To gauge public interest in a food waste recycling program, the city is asking residents to complete a short online survey about the program. The survey is on the city’s website.
”The City of Lambertville is interested in your feedback on a new initiative to collect and compost food scraps and other organic materials from your curb on a weekly basis,” the website says. “The city sends about 3.4 million pounds of trash a year to landfills or incinerators. This new program, if successful, would drastically reduce that amount, saving the city money and reducing our carbon footprint. In addition, residents would be entitled to free compost several times a year.”
Food waste that could be recycled instead of sent to a landfill includes bones, paper plates, cardboard that has food on it, napkins, paper towels and leftover food.
Said Ms. Hajdusek: “The only reason we’re asking respondents to the survey to give their address is so we can keep track of who has responded. In January, we’ll begin a door-to-door survey of those who haven’t responded online. The online survey can be completed very quickly. It asks the respondent if they’d be interested in a weekly food waste collection program, if they’d be willing to pay for it, and how much they’d be willing to pay.”
She said the compost would become available by shipping the collected food waste to the Sussex County-based firm of AgChoice.
”AgChoice would turn the food waste into compost,” she said. “Periodically, compost would be brought back to the city for use by residents.”
Formed in 2009, Sustainable Jersey is a nonprofit organization that provides tools, training and financial incentives to support and reward communities that pursue sustainability programs.

