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Community spotlightCommunity composting

Erie County × WeRadiate

Plate to Field

Your community. Your climate action.

Erie County and WeRadiate connect residents, volunteers, and organizations with local food-scrap composting.

Erie County, New York
Find your local drop-offWays to take part
Fallen yellow and brown apples mixed with leaves and other plant material.
Apples and leaves pictured on the Plate to Field website. Image via Plate to Field / Erie County × WeRadiate

The initiative

Small daily scraps. A shared local effort.

The coffee grounds from breakfast and vegetable peelings from dinner still have a useful future. Plate to Field helps five Erie County municipalities establish or expand residential food-scrap collection, with training, technical assistance and outreach. It connects a household habit—setting scraps aside—with the local systems and knowledge needed to compost them. [12]

Local government · Environment & Planning

Erie County

Erie County’s Department of Environment & Planning works with participating municipalities on residential collection pilots and recruits Compost Ambassadors to help neighbors learn about the program. [1]

Composting & organic recycling

WeRadiate

WeRadiate works with compost operators, farmers and municipalities. The company combines composting guidance, hands-on education and monitoring technology, bringing organic-recycling expertise to its partnership with Erie County. [11]

Why composting matters [3]

  • Keep scraps out of landfills.

    Composting scraps instead of landfilling them diverts organic material from disposal and reduces a source of landfill methane.

  • Return value to soil.

    Finished compost adds organic matter and recycles nutrients into a useful soil amendment.

  • Help soil manage water.

    Applying compost can improve soil structure, water infiltration and moisture retention.

Participating municipalities
5[1]
Food scraps collected
23,315 lb[2]
Volunteers & Compost Ambassadors
16[2]

Program-reported figures, checked November 5, 2026.

Your local route to composting

Find your community’s drop-off.

You can take part without a backyard compost pile. Choose your community, check access, and follow the local sign-up instructions. Aurora and East Aurora share one municipal site.

Details checked

Aurora & East Aurora

Drop-off available

One shared municipal drop-off for the Town of Aurora and Village of East Aurora.

Who can take part
Town of Aurora and Village of East Aurora residents.
Cost
Free resident service.
Registration
No advance registration step is listed in the village’s participation guide. Follow the posted collection instructions.

Village Department of Public Works

400 Pine Street, East Aurora, NY 14052

HoursAnytime, according to the village’s current composting notice.

Food-scrap drop-off is at the front of the building near the garage door. Yard-waste collection has a separate seasonal Saturday schedule.

Open map
Read the village’s instructionsSource [7]

Grand Island

Drop-off available

A free resident program with a Town Hall option available around the clock.

Who can take part
Grand Island residents only.
Cost
Free. Registered residents can request a kitchen collection bin while supplies last, or use their own suitable container.
Registration
Complete the town’s Food Scrap Collection Pilot Program form before participating. Kitchen-bin pickup is at the Highway Department, Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–2 p.m.

Grand Island Town Hall

2255 Baseline Road, Grand Island, NY 14072

Hours24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Green food-scrap bins are at the south end of the parking lot.

Open map

Grand Island Highway Department

1820 Whitehaven Road, Grand Island, NY 14072

HoursTown information page: weekdays, 7 a.m.–2 p.m.

Bins are near the entry gate. The town’s registration form lists 24/7 bin access here, while its information page lists weekday hours. Use Town Hall for a 24/7 option confirmed by both sources.

Open map
Register with Grand IslandSource [4]

Lancaster

Drop-off available

The Plate to Field map directs Lancaster residents to Farmer Pirates Compost’s neighborhood drop-off service.

Who can take part
Households enrolled at this Farmer Pirates drop-off location.
Cost
Farmer Pirates lists $10 per month after a first-month free trial. Confirm the current subscription terms when joining.
Registration
Sign up with Farmer Pirates before using the locked bin. Membership instructions provide the bin access code; keep the code within your household.

Lancaster Municipal Building

5423 Broadway, Lancaster, NY 14086

HoursAnytime after enrollment, following your membership access instructions.

Farmer Pirates describes neighborhood drop-off as an anytime service. Use the selected location and instructions in your welcome email.

Open map
See Lancaster signup & termsSource [9]

Alden

No residential drop-off listed

No residential drop-off is currently listed on the Plate to Field map.

Use the project’s interest form to ask about local collection updates or ways to support composting in your community.

Ask about Alden updatesSource [2]

A small routine you can keep

Make your first drop-off easy.

  1. Choose your local route.

    Check your community’s eligibility, cost, and access hours above. Complete registration where required before your first visit.

  2. Give food scraps a place in your kitchen.

    Use your program’s collection pail or another suitable covered container. Start with accepted scraps from meals you already prepare.

  3. Make it part of a trip you already take.

    Use the map link, bring only your site’s accepted materials, empty your container into the designated bin, and close or relock it as instructed.

Start with the right scraps.

For the county-supported collection sites, everyday kitchen scraps are a useful starting point.

Collect

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps, with stickers removed
  • Coffee grounds and paper filters
  • Bread, rice, pasta, and other grains

Keep out

  • Plastic packaging, produce stickers, and rubber bands
  • Pet waste, K-cups, and loose fats or oils

The county guide also accepts cooked leftovers, dairy, meat, bones, and shells. Follow your site’s full list and liner rules. Lancaster members should use Farmer Pirates’ instructions and Betterbin guidance.

Read the accepted-materials guide ↗Source [1]

Check the linked local instructions for access changes, holiday arrangements, and your site’s accepted materials before travelling.

The work behind the spotlight

A closer look.

Participating communities

  • East Aurora
  • Aurora
  • Alden
  • Lancaster
  • Grand Island
Visit the program website

Keeping food scraps out of the trash starts with a place to take them. Through Plate to Field, Erie County and WeRadiate are helping five municipalities establish or expand residential food-scrap collection programs. The initiative brings together local collection, education, and community participation.[1]

Composting uses microorganisms and oxygen to turn organic materials into a stable soil amendment. Using finished compost returns organic matter and nutrients to soil. Diverting food scraps from landfills also reduces a source of landfill methane.[3]

Grand Island residents can use the town’s Food Scrap Collection Pilot Program page for registration and current drop-off details. The town describes its pilot as free and open to Grand Island residents.[4]

Ready to contribute? Register your interest in becoming a Compost Ambassador or tell the program team how your organization would like to help.

Find your place in the program

A few ways to make a difference.

Choose the next step that fits you.

For residents

Give your food scraps a local destination.

Find your community’s program, then check eligibility, registration, drop-off hours, and accepted materials before your first visit.

Find your local program

For volunteers

Help your neighbors get started.

Compost Ambassadors share information, connect with local stakeholders, and encourage participation. Training is part of the opportunity.

Register your interest

For organizations

Bring your community into the conversation.

Schools, libraries, local groups, and municipal teams can explore ways to support outreach and local organics programs with the organizers.

Connect with the team
Program information & sources
  1. Erie County: Food Waste Management. Plate to Field, Compost Ambassadors, and accepted collection materials. Checked November 6, 2026.
  2. Plate to Field: program homepage and interactive drop-off map. Map checked November 6, 2026; impact figures recorded November 5, 2026, without a stated reporting period.
  3. US Environmental Protection Agency: Composting. Composting process, soil amendment, and landfill methane.
  4. Town of Grand Island: Food Scrap Collection Pilot Program. Resident eligibility, registration, drop-off locations, and bin pickup. Checked November 6, 2026.
  5. Plate to Field: Composting Resources. Outreach posters and volunteer materials.
  6. Plate to Field: Get Involved. Team contacts and interest form.
  7. Village of East Aurora: Trash and Recycling. Current food-scrap access notice, shared Town/Village eligibility, and DPW address. Checked November 6, 2026; food-scrap access is separate from seasonal yard-waste hours.
  8. Village of East Aurora: How to Get Involved with Composting. Free shared resident service; no advance registration step is listed. The linked flyer retains Saturday hours; the village webpage now states anytime access.
  9. Farmer Pirates Compost: Neighborhood Drop Off Service. Lancaster address, anytime member access, enrollment, and $10/month following the first-month trial. Checked November 6, 2026.
  10. Town of Grand Island: official Food Scrap Collection Pilot Program registration form. Resident enrollment, bin locations and access, and kitchen-bin pickup. Checked November 6, 2026.
  11. WeRadiate: company overview. Work with compost operators, farmers and municipalities; monitoring technology, testing and composting support. Checked November 6, 2026.
  12. WeRadiate: Advisory. Plate to Field project description, five participating municipalities, training, technical assistance, education and outreach. Checked November 6, 2026.
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