Launched in June 2024, the Zero Food Waste project aims to divert all edible and compostable food waste from the Summit County landfill by 2030.
Foundation board member Eeye Hsu said the partnership is one of Summit County’s most significant environmental collaborations in recent years. She said the goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, extend the life of the county landfill, and promote food equity.
About 1200 households have signed up for the initiative during the first year, and Hsu said they hope to hit 2000 customers by the end of the year.
“We are so excited about Summit County supporting this initiative, and this is what zero food waste has been all about,” Hsu said on KPCW's Local News Hour July 22. “It's about the community coming together - working together to reduce what's going into our landfill, divert our waste, and make Park City a better place to live.”
According to Summit County Solid Waste Superintendent Tim Loveday, as much as 50% of the landfill’s volume could be food. Reducing that load could delay costly expansions. Those projects are estimated to cost between $3 million to $3.5 million.
From now through the end of the year, new Summit County customers can sign up with a promo code that will cover the cost of the weekly curbside service. Customers will pay only a one-time startup fee of $25 for a 5-gallon bin or $50 for a 16-gallon bin.
Existing customers who refer a new customer can also earn two free months of service.
Since the incentives began, Hsu said they’ve added 100 customers. The free sign-ups will continue until $45,000 received from the county runs out.
The community foundation and the Park City Chamber Bureau also launched a restaurant cohort – with up to a dozen restaurants learning about how they can implement food collection and composting within their operations.
“We've partnered with a consulting firm that's helping them individually go through their operations procedures and how they can be effective in food waste and in collecting food waste and composting,” Hsu said.
As the program grows, it will become available to more residents throughout the county.
“We're in Park City. We are now picking up in Kamas and Francis and some Oakley, Peoa, and we have waiting lists for other communities like Coalville," Hsu said, "We just need enough customers there to make it, to have some mass there. If it's not serving your community now, sign up for a wait list, and when we have enough customers in that area, we'll be able to start operations.”
Residents in Summit County can sign up for free curbside composting through the end of 2025 using the codes ZEROFOODWASTE5 or ZEROFOODWASTE16.
Park City Community Foundation is a financial supporter of KPCW.
