King County’s giant ‘cube of food’ on the road to Snoqualmie Railroad Days

477-pound cube of food equal to what an average family throws out each year

King County’s giant “cube of food” – all 477 pounds of it – will be at Snoqualmie Railroad Days, Saturday, Aug. 22, from noon to 4 p.m. in downtown Snoqualmie.

The cube is a clear acrylic box that is filled with 477 pounds of food scraps. That’s roughly the amount of food scraps generated each year by the average single-family household in King County. And that’s what each family is sending to King County’s Cedar Hills Regional Landfill when they don’t recycle them.

Nearly all King County single-family garbage customers can recycle their food scraps and food-soiled paper in their yard waste bin. However, many still throw away their food scraps: Roughly 30 percent of what goes to the landfill is recyclable food scraps.

“The cube is a terrific visual that illustrates how much food people are throwing away every year,” said Gerty Coville with King County Solid Waste Division. “Recycling food scraps is easy; the key is knowing what is recyclable.”

The cube is part of King County’s “Recycle Food. It’s Easy to Do” education campaign to teach people about recycling food scraps and food soiled paper in their curbside yard waste bin. Yard waste, food scraps and food-soiled paper are sent to a local composting facility and turned into nutrient-rich compost that can be purchased at local garden and hardware stores.

"People may be surprised at how valuable their food scraps can be," said Susan Thoman, Director of Business Development for Cedar Grove Composting. "When people recycle everything from egg shells to chicken bones and greasy delivery pizza boxes, it is turned into compost for use in gardens, parks and other landscaped areas. This closes the loop and helps reduce our impact on the environment."

King County Master Recycler and Composters will be Snoqualmie Railroad Days to answer questions and hand out free compostable bag samples that can be used for food scrap recycling.

King County’s “cube of food” will also make an appearance at Issaquah Salmon Days, Oct. 3-4.

For more information about recycling food scraps and food soiled paper visit www.recyclefood.com.

Related information

Recycle Food. It's Easy To Do.

What do I do with ...?

King County Solid Waste