Madeline Bolding, organizer of Los Alamos Food Scrap Swap, holds up  food scraps and the finished product after composting. Courtesy photo

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Thanksgiving is a time to pause and take stock of the blessings in life. It also is time to enjoy an abundance of good food and this can be problematic.

A large holiday dinner can lead to food waste, which is a major contributor to global warming. Tossed in the landfill, food releases methane gas and unfortunately there is a lot of food waste in landfills.

According to data compiled by the Los Alamos County Environmental Services Division, about 40 percent of all food in the U.S. is wasted. Thanksgiving could be a major contributor to food waste. Luckily, Los Alamos resident and compost enthusiast Madeline Bolding is offering a solution.

Bolding recently created an event on Facebook called Los Alamos Food Scrap Swap, which will be held Nov. 26 through Nov. 29. The event is like a virtual meeting space, Bolding said, where people will post the kind of composting they do, type of compostable material they can use and which neighborhood they are in.

People wanting to contribute their Thanksgiving food scraps can contact someone who composts nearby. They can then coordinate where and how to drop off the compost material, she said.

So far, residents in both Los Alamos and White Rock have posted that they are open to receiving scraps.

Bolding said she sees a lot of interest locally for composting but factors such as setup, changes to daily routines and a lack of a yard may discourage them. Having an online food swap may make it easier for these people to find eco-friendly disposal options by relying on their neighbors.

Composting in Los Alamos can be tough, too, Bolding said. There are a lot of pine trees, but their needles are tough to compost unlike deciduous tree leaves. Bolding said she sees a lot of local composters looking for “brown” carbon-rich material like leaves to put in their compost bins.

“This is a nice opportunity for people to resolve the supply and demand issues with both food waste and unwanted leaves,” Bolding said.

Additionally, Bolding said she was inspired by Los Alamos County’s efforts to begin a composting program by supplying compost bins and information about composting.

“This is a grassroots way to support that,” she said.

Environmental Services Division Manager Angelica Gurule said Bolding’s efforts also are appreciated.

“Anything we can do on an individual household level to reduce waste and manage our waste on our own … is a good thing,” Gurule said. “I love that our residents are so proactive to do the right thing. I just remind everyone to be safety minded and not put food that will attract bears and other wildlife in their back yards.”

For the Los Alamos Food Scrap Swap, Bolding said participants should not try to compost anything synthetic. She added since the most common type of composting is done in the backyard, it is recommended not to put any meat, dairy or oil in the bin.

It is important that those giving material are clear on what scraps the composter needs, Bolding said.

“It is important to communicate with your composter to see what is easy for them to accept and what would be a burden for them,” she said.

Everyone is encouraged to take part in the swap because it offers a lot of benefits, Bolding said.

“There are ecological impacts,” she said, “by not putting it in a landfill you avoid the emissions from the garbage truck taking food waste all the way to the landfill and the methane that food releases in the landfill.”

There are other perks, too, because households don’t have to deal with smelly trash bins or messes from punctured trash bags, Bolding said.

This also is a good introduction to composting. People can see how much they toss out that doesn’t have to go into the trash. Bolding said she composts several pounds a week so it does add up.

Bolding has enjoyed experimenting with compost. She said she started while in graduate school in Missouri in 2015. She has since begun composting with worms and with “bokashi” fermentation.

“Anybody who knows me, knows that I love composting … it’s a magical process to turn (waste) into the most beautiful soil you have ever seen,” Bolding said.

For those composting novices, Bolding said Los Alamos County offers great information and education on composting. Still, she offers her own advice.

“My advice is mostly don’t be intimated,” Bolding said.

Composts can be ignored, she said. People do not need to babysit it; the magic will happen on its own.