Three holiday leftover recipe contest winners claim great prizes

County residents shared various yummy recipes during our Simplify the Holidays leftover recipe contest. Submitted recipes were published at eatsmartwasteless.tips. Waste Wise thanks Lion & Owl, BRING, the Oregon State University Extension program, and Main Street Market for their support!

* Marilyn O'Malley (Never-the-Same Soup) - Lion & Owl $100 Gift Certificate 

* Marla Cyphert (Egg, Ham & Cheese Muffin w/ Hollandaise Sauce) - One OSU Extension Service Master Food Preserver Workshop gift certificate; handout on food dehydration; handout on making flavored vinegar ($35 value); BRING $30 Gift Certificate + BRINGmade Hummingbird Carving ($21 value) 

* Phyllis Laird (T-Day Sliders for 4) - One OSU Extension Service Master Food Preserver Workshop gift certificate; handout on food dehydration; handout on making flavored vinegar ($35 value); Main Street Market Sustainable Product Package ($50 value). 

Thanks to all who participated and did their part to prevent wasted food. See you next winter!

Lane County giving away FREE milk dispensers to schools

For Lane County schools seeking ways to reduce waste in the cafeteria, an exciting solution may be available! Waste Wise Lane County (a part of the Lane County Waste Management Division)--in partnership with Salem-Keizer Public Schools and Marion County--recently acquired 14 milk dispensers and is looking to donate them to county schools interested in putting them in their lunchrooms (see photo).

Wasted milk is a big deal, both fiscally and environmentally.

A recent World Wildlife Fund article illustrated this: "Bulk milk dispensers save 248 gallons of water and 30 pounds of CO2 per student each year. To put those savings in context, that’s equivalent to almost 1.5 times the amount of water the average person consumes on a yearly basis and 33.8 miles driven by a gas-powered vehicle. With 49.5 million students attending K-12 schools in the US, this would be the same as taking over 145,000 gas-powered vehicles off the road each year.

"To understand the impact this change would have for a single school, a middle school in rural Marion County, Oregon, saw their average milk waste decrease from 250 gallons to 43 gallons of liquid milk over the course of a single year."

Interested in learning how your school can save money and help reduce waste with a new milk dispenser? Contact Waste Wise Lane County Supervisor Angie Marzano at angie.marzano@lanecountyor.gov.