Evanston Business Scoops up Food Scraps

Evanston resident Erlene Howard's is encouraging residents to think twice about what they throw in the trash.

Erlene Howard wants those last few bites of sandwich you plan to throw away. And that apple core, while you're at it. She'll take whatever you've got, though she isn't hungry. Howard runs Collective Resource, Inc., a food scrap composting service. Collective Resource was born out of Howard's desire to eat food she calls "close to the ground"—a raw diet of fruit and vegetables eaten as soon after their harvest as possible.  A friend with a compost pile took many of the scraps left from Howard's kitchen, but when the two were unable to meet up, the scraps went into the dumpster. As she thought about the valuable nutrients going into already overflowing landfills, Howard, an independent bookkeeper, saw an opportunity. "A light bulb went off—I…

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