Recycling at Ludgate Farms

Ludgate Farms loves to recycle! In our back room prep area, we have separate bins for all recyclable materials including food scraps, cardboard, paper, metal, glass and plastic containers. To save energy and packaging, food scraps are recycled locally right on our own premises - we make our own compost and use it to grow herbs and veggies and flowers. The non-compostable materials are hauled away to Tompkins County's state-of-the-art recycling center. Depositable bottles from beverages we sell are also accepted to be recycled. The deposit ends up being donated to a local community center playground fund. Dedicated Ludgate employees have been known to "police" the garbage and recycling bins in order to educate fellow employees about the benefits of recycling!

In our bulk department we spend extra money to buy bags made of cellophane. Cellophane is a type of biodegradable plastic-like material made from wood (cellulose) fibers. All of our fruits, nuts, granola, flour, rice, grains, beans and so forth are purchased fresh in bulk and packaged on the premises in these bio-degradable cellophane bags to maximize freshness and minimize environmental impact.  Unfortunately (more recently) we have discovered that the cellophane is not as green as we originally thought. Besides the most obvious problem that it sort of self-destructs when you try and open the bag, we have learned that it is really a laminated product made of two layers of polyethylene sandwiched over a central core of cellophane ... this makes the bag less permeable and allows it to be heat sealed ... but also makes way less compostable. There is also a supply problem: the cellophane bags are only made by one or two little factories and they have quite a lead time to get the right sizes etc ... So we are experimenting with reusable zip lock bags and getting a lot of positive feedback and other suggestions from our customers on this - the reusability factor is winning out on the bags it looks like.

One of Ludgate's most unique ways of re-using our resources is by saving peanuts, bubble-wrap, and other packing materials. Our grocery department receives many products shipped with these non-biodegradable packing materials. Rather than send them to the landfill, we give them to another local business that uses them to ship out their products. Keeping these non-biodegradable materials in circulation and out of the environment is of the utmost importance.

Perhaps our favorite and most resourceful method of recycling is composting! Preparing fresh produce for sale in the retail store often involves trimming and sorting. All food that is deemed not fine enough to sell (we have very high standards!) but still perfectly edible, is donated to a local food pantry in Ithaca. All other produce scraps, such as trimmed lettuce leaves or moldy oranges, are relegated to the compost bin. The rows of upright wooden pallets that you see at the end of our garden in back of the store are homes for working compost piles. Vegetable matter from the store is hauled to these outdoor bins, where it is combined with additional organic matter. In the Spring, when the compost piles have "cooked down" and we are ready to plant, we haul the composted matter to the gardens behind the store, where it is spread on and tilled into the soil. This "black gold" dirt enriches the garden soil and gives back to the earth what we have taken from it.

Ludgate Farms and its core group of employees believe in and promote recycling because it is essential for the sustenance of our planet. Many of our products encourage recycling and responsible living, such as organic produce, recycled paper products, and groceries made with all natural ingredients. Responsibility for our waste is very much apart of being a conscientious business, respectful to the community we serve and reside in. Ludgate's demonstrates how easy it is for any business to include recycling, as an everyday part of its routine.

Ludgate Farms
1552 Hanshaw Rd.
Ithaca, NY 14850