In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

EDITORIAL

In Business, July-August, Vol. 29, No. 4, p. 2

FOOD RESIDUALS GET INTO THE ACT OF RECOVERY

WHILE composting is high on many people's lists for recovery, the numbers are extremely low in too many states when it comes to recycling food residuals. On pages 14 to 17 in this issue, states like Ohio verify that the recycling rate for food waste is less than three percent of the nearly 96 million tons

generated annually. But things are beginning to change, and the numbers may soon be way up!
As described in these reports, companies like Paygro - a major supplier of compost and mulch products in Ohio - are getting heavily involved. The facility is currently processing about 75,000 cubic yards of biowaste annually - using a staff of 30 to operate the site and prepare products for market throughout the eastern United States. Their static piles and in-vessel systems are doing an amazing job. Its methods are recycling over 300 tons of food waste per week from such sources as a packaged salad plant, frozen pizza manufacturer, livestock feed producer and upscale grocery chain. “Just in the past year, we've seen a major shift in thinking on the part of food waste generators,” says Doug Alderman, Director of Agricultural and Environmental Business. “We recently created a Foreign Materials Policy that states we have the right to charge tipping fees equal to those of local landfills if we continue to receive contaminated material. We've seen much cleaner food waste as a result.”
In the past three years, Ohio has received interest from schools, universities, restaurants, hospitals and others who generate food residuals. “It's ultimately the composting industry and businesses that generate food residuals who will push this initiative to the next level,” emphasizes Joe Goicochea of Ohio EPA. “We're here to connect the dots.”
In North Carolina, public sector incentives, private sector infrastructure and guidance from a statewide task force are creating a positive environment for food residuals composting. Leading the charge in the Southeast, North Carolina diverts six percent of its food waste (primarily nonresidential). “In my view, food waste is our next best diversion target,” says Brian Rosa, organics recycling specialist at the state's Environmental Assistance division “We got all the players in the same room to work out the issues and plan to make it happen. Six months later, we're seeing it start to pay off.”
Six of the state's 36 composting facilities are now permitted to process food waste. All but one of the sites are in the top tier, meaning they can take all organic materials. Where food diversion is really making inroads is at the state's institutions of higher learning. In Chapel Hill, what began with one cafeteria seven years ago now includes five sites that composted 428 tons last year.
“Once we see tipping fees reach a certain price, we'll start to see food waste disappear from landfills because it will be cheaper for large-scale companies to compost,” says Lynn Lucas of McGill Composting. “I think in this state we're real close to that.”
And that - hopefully - is how food residuals throughout the land will get into the act of recovery. - J.G.