Southfield council adopts food-waste elimination study and approves multifamily pilot

Southfield City Council on Feb. 10 adopted a municipal Food Waste Elimination Study and authorized city participation in a six-month pilot program focused on food recycling at multifamily housing sites.

The study and the pilot seek to reduce food sent to landfill, increase food rescue and composting, and test outdoor collection bins and indoor food collection containers for roughly 1,000 residents in a pilot area. Suzanne Youssef, the city's sustainability planner, told council the study was fully grant-funded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and that Make Food Not Waste, a nonprofit, will lead many implementation activities and connect the city to additional grants.

The study provides a sector-by-sector blueprint with strategies for single-family and multifamily residences, food businesses, schools, institutions and municipal operations. Youssef said the residential sector accounts for an estimated 46 percent of Southfield's food waste and highlighted convenience as a critical factor in resident participation if the city adopts curbside collection later.

Youssef also outlined estimated costs for a theoretical full elimination scenario (the study's modeled maximum) and emphasized the plan's appendices break down which actors would be responsible for specific expenses. She told the council that the study timeline began in January 2024 and that data collection was delayed while the city's primary hauler reorganized following an acquisition; the project was completed in December 2024.

Council members asked about collection frequency and logistics for outdoor collection bins. The mayor asked whether the pilot's outdoor collection would run on a weekly service; Youssef said a curbside program would require renegotiation with the city's hauler, Priority Waste, and that weekly collection is a likely requirement. She added that Make Food Not Waste and contracted compost haulers are lined up to empty large outdoor bins and to support the pilot's operations.

The pilot described to council would distribute indoor food-recycling bins to residents and provide outdoor collection points; participation was estimated at roughly 1,000 residents if fully subscribed. Youssef emphasized public education, school engagement and partnerships with food-rescue organizations as central to success and noted prior Plate to Planet pilots at local universities had mixed results with student engagement.

The council approved the study and the pilot as part of the meeting's consent agenda. The consent motion was moved and seconded as recorded on the council's minutes and carried without recorded opposition.

The study will be posted on the city's Sustainable Southfield website and staff said they intend to use the plan to inform the city's broader Sustainability Action Plan, targeted for completion by the end of the year.