How to 'FoodCycle' At Home in Tucson

How to ‘FoodCycle’ At Home in Tucson

January 24, 2025

By Matt Sterner

In a step toward environmental sustainability, the City of Tucson introduced the FoodCycle At Home program, making it easier for Tucsonans to decrease food waste.

FoodCycle lets folks drop off food waste at designated sites, where it is then processed at the City’s Los Reales Sustainability Campus Composting Facility. In its first year in 2021, the program composted 261 tons of material. Now, that the FoodCycle program has an “At Home” option, they’re hoping for an even bigger impact.

FoodCycle At Home (Photo by the City of Tucson)

What’s allowed: everyday food waste items such as fruit, eggshells, coffee grounds, bread, and leftover pastries in their composting efforts.

What isn’t: meats, oils (including butter), bones, egg yolks, and all plastics.

How it Works:

Sign up for a 30-minute information session to learn the basics
Complete the training and receive a free home kitchen compost pail to collect food scraps
Receive the code to access the container lock at drop-off sites
Drop off food scraps in containers at a City collection site

The next 30-minute information sessions will be held on Saturday, January 25 at 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. at Reid Park Zoo, located at 3400 E Zoo Ct.

The learning sessions tend to fill up quickly, so keep an eye out for upcoming events if the January 25 times are spoken for.

For more information about FoodCycle, visit tucsonaz.gov.

Locked bins for food scraps are set up at each of the following locations:

Blue Moon Garden: 1501 N. Oracle Road
Highland Vista Garden: 5300 E. 7th Street
Little Leaf Garden: 1315 W. Speedway Boulevard
New Spirit Garden: 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail
Pio Decimo Garden: 835 S. 7th Avenue
Purple Heart Dog Park: 9820 Rees Loop
Tucson Clean and Beautiful: 1360 E. Irvington Road
Udall Park: 7290 E. Tanque Verde Road
Ward 4 NRC: 8155 E. Poinciana Drive

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Article By

Matt Sterner

At a very young age, Matt Sterner was gifted with the artistic ability to masterfully roll a burrito to the highest of standards, but the wrapped medley of delicious innards wasn’t his first love. Matt’s first true love was a combination of reading, writing, and creating. He grew up reading comics, the ingredients list of his shampoo and conditioner bottles, choose-your-own-adventure books, and the Scrabble dictionary — something he found useful when challenging his grandmother to a game.

He attended college at New Mexico State University and graduated with a degree in Digital Filmmaking. One of his favorite classes was screenwriting because he became responsible for the story’s birth before it came to life on-screen. After school, Matt took on numerous positions at a local television station in Tucson. From dealing out stories about heartbreak to producing “fluffier” content for a lifestyle broadcast, he learned what it takes to adapt to the many emotions the world of media can stir. Since 2017, Matt has dabbled in the culinary world of Tucson as well as San Diego, California from time to time.

If you’re in the mood for strange stories, head over to his pride and joy, wonkytimes.com. And in case you’re curious — yes, after all of this time, he still manages to roll a killer burrito.

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