Buffalo is taking a big step toward greener waste management. The city’s curbside compost collection program, known locally as “scrap‑it,” is set to expand from its current 2,000‑household pilot to potentially serve 10,000 residents within the next five years.
Program basics and early success
Since its launch in 2023, the weekly pickup has diverted roughly 1.7 million pounds of food waste from landfills, according to Terra Courtney, a worker‑owner of Farmer Pirates LLC, the private firm that runs the service. “So that’s a lot of food waste,” Courtney said, noting the environmental impact of keeping organic material out of the city’s landfill system.
Participating households receive a brown 12‑gallon tote. Residents fill the bin with food scraps and place it on the curb alongside their regular garbage and recycling containers each week. Farmer Pirates then collects the totes, transports the material to its East Side facility, and turns it into compost over a six‑to‑eight‑month process.
Benefits for soil, farmers and the community
Once the compost is ready, it is sold each spring to local farmers and gardeners. “This is a material that can be reused to rebuild our soils, to grow more food,” Courtney explained. “If we send it to landfill it’s going to slowly decay and potentially release harmful methane into the atmosphere. Also, landfills are not infinite; they are taking up valuable space.”
Mayor Sean Ryan praised the initiative, calling composting “a practical way for residents to make a difference in how much waste we send to landfills.” The program remains voluntary and operates on a first‑come, first‑served basis, with a waiting list used to ensure city‑wide participation.
Expansion plans and community response
There are currently about 1,000 people on the waiting list, and Courtney expects the first phase of the expansion to move quickly. “It’ll be expanding from 2,000, hopefully to about 10,000 residents within the next five years,” he said.
The city is encouraging interested households to sign up via the Farmer Pirates website. By increasing participation, Buffalo aims to further reduce landfill use, lower greenhouse‑gas emissions, and support local agriculture with high‑quality, locally produced compost.
Looking ahead
As the program scales, city officials will monitor diversion rates and adjust logistics to keep service reliable for a larger subscriber base. The expansion reflects Buffalo’s broader commitment to sustainable practices and responsible stewardship of natural resources, aligning with the city’s environmental goals and the values of families who care about clean neighborhoods and healthy soil.
Original reporting: WKBW 7 Buffalo (Buffalo section) — read the source article.
