REDUCING, RECOVERING, AND RECYCLING FOOD SCRAPS. Athena Lee Bradley Northeast Recycling Council

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1 REDUCING, RECOVERING, AND RECYCLING FOOD SCRAPS Athena Lee Bradley Northeast Recycling Council

2 Percentage of Organics in MSW Largest component of municipal solid waste 56% of what we send to landfills & incinerators Food Scraps less than 4% 34 million tons of food waste are tossed away by homes & businesses in the U.S.

3 What s Acceptable Food scraps and food processing residues Non-recyclable/soiled paper napkins, paper towels, pizza boxes & other paper products Items manufactured from organics compostable bags, utensils, plates, cups and bowls made from corn and potato starch, bagasse, PLA and similar materials Consider collection options with or without yard trimmings

4 From What Sources? Residents Supermarkets Institutions Restaurants

5 Essential Organics Management Tool Public Outreach & Education

6 Goals of Outreach/Education Ensure participants: Learn about the program & participate Know what s required Ease concerns & answer questions General strategies are applicable to virtually all education campaigns The message will be specific to the program

7 Food Waste Reduction 40 percent of edible food is wasted Better food management practices are easy to implement Tips Improve food preparation Adjust portion sizes Monitor food expiration dates

8 Toolkit to Reduce Household Food Waste

9 Food Recovery Reduces food scrap disposal needs Helps those in need Tax benefits Liability exemption ( Good Samaritan Act ) Good business good community relations Food to animals helps farms

10 Revisit Home Composting Provide tips on food scrap composting New outreach & training programs Compost bins & home digesters Target a broader audience New residents & schools

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12 Home Digester

13 Special Event & School Composting Educational value What s Compostable Compostable products Yuck factor Zero Waste

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16 Neighborhood Compost Bins Compost Demonstration Site

17 Who s Doing It? Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Zero waste goal Biweekly curbside collection for recyclables & garbage Promotes onsite management of household organics

18 Who s Doing It? Central Vermont Solid Waste District Residential Organics Diversion Program Promotes management of all organics at home School Organics Program All schools (25) participate in the School Zero Waste Program Business Organics Program Free training & instructional signs for work spaces Free signs to market participation to customers Free hauling of food scraps for the first month Free 48-gallon totes for food scraps Limited free advertising in local media

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20 Who s Doing It? Manchester Essex Regional MS Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts Successful Green Team 90% waste stream reduction District-wide Westwood Elementary Enumclaw, Washington King County Green School 54% recycling rate

21 Who s Doing It? Pleasantville Music Festival Pleasantville, New York Zero waste event Volunteers staff zero waste stations In 2012, waste reduced from 5.5 tons to 1.85 tons Garlic and Arts Festival, Orange, Massachusetts 10,000 people attend this two-day event Composting since 2004 & zero waste 2006 Vendors must use compostable service ware Volunteers staff five zero waste stations Two bags of trash from the portable toilet areas

22 Commercial Food Scrap Diversion

23 Getting Businesses on Board Offer to assist with waste audits How to right size trash collection Training & training resources Reduction, Recovery/Donation, & Composting

24 Pre & Post-Consumer Food Scraps Start with pre-consumer food scraps Prep scraps Container in prep area Easier to train staff first Then post-consumer & customer training

25 Color Coded Containers

26 Commercial Collection Containers

27 Commercial Food Scrap Collection

28 Staff Training Employee orientation Ongoing Staff meetings Signage Recognition Consistent Seek Feedback/Provide Feedback Give periodic updates Amount of food scraps diverted

29 Signage Clear Simple Pictures

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31 In-Vessel On-site, In-Vessel Composter

32 Residential Food Scrap Collection

33 Residential Organics Collection Options Drop-off (transfer stations, recycling centers) Door-to-door service ( curbside ) Modified curbside Standalone options or in combination Arrange for processing prior to establishing collection system

34 Kitchen Collection Containers

35 Transfer Station Food Scrap Drop-off

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37 Transfer Station Food Scrap Drop-off Bear-Resistant Containers

38 Who s Doing It? Franklin County Solid Waste District, Massachusetts 4 municipal drop-offs Food scraps & soiled paper Technical assistance Businesses, schools & special events

39 Who s Doing It? Chittenden Solid Waste District, Vermont Food scraps at its seven drop-offs No charge Free 4-gallon bucket with a lid

40 Residential Curbside

41 Colored Carts

42 Cart Stickers

43 Multi-Family

44 Who s Doing It? Windham Solid Waste Management District Brattleboro curbside Vernon food scrap drop-off Windham County residents or businesses can compost food scraps at the District s COW

45 Who s Doing It? San Francisco Mandatory recycling & composting Zero Waste goal 2020 Currently more than 75% diversion rate City-wide residential curbside, multi-family, & commercial collection

46 Who s Doing It? Hamilton & Wenham, Massachusetts Citizen-led initiative Collected with a split body truck on a weekly basis Hamilton trash collection is every other week Huron, Ohio Year-round collection of food scraps Yard waste collection for nine months/year Residents charged $220/year for waste, recycling, & compost

47 Who s Doing It? King County, Washington Food scraps, soiled paper, yard trimmings Collected by private haulers Pay per volume fees Food Too Good To Waste Campaign Business campaign on food recovery & Composting Seattle has goal of 70% recycling by 2025 Rate was 53.7% in 2010

48 Who s Doing It? Portland, Oregon Weekly residential curbside collection of organics & recyclables Garbage collection every other week Pay per volume 18 franchised garbage & recycling companies Recycling rate goal of 75 percent by 2015 Currently at 63%

49 Who s Doing It? Wayzata, Minnesota (population 3,688) Food waste & soiled paper are placed into a Blue Bag Organics BPI-certified (compostable) bag Residents place the Blue Bag inside their regular garbage cart Trash & organics are transported to a transfer station where the Blue Bag is removed for transportation to a compost facility Earthgirl Composting Curbside collection of food scraps & soiled paper for households, small businesses, & special events in two counties in Vermont Participants provided a 5-gallon bucket Organics delivered to Grow Compost or Green Mountain Compost Participants are charged based on collection frequency

50 Food Scrap Processing

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52 Carla Castagero, AgRecycle

53 Organics Processing Options Small vs. Regional Municipal, nonprofit, farm, private Range of processing technologies from very simple to complex technology systems Each system has its advantages Can be combined to better serve the community & for cost efficiencies

54 Who s Doing It? Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency Aerated static pile to manage yard waste, food scraps, & other organics Tip fee $50/ton for separated organics (vs. $100/ton LF) Food scraps from supermarkets, grocers, & restaurants

55 Who s Doing It? Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) Comprehensive solid waste management & resource recovery system Two compost facilities Yard trimmings, wood chips, food scraps (Amboy facility) Aerated static pile Commercial fees, residential permit fee ($15), product sales

56 Town of Skowhegan Leaf and Yard Food Scrap Recovery Pilot Mark King, ME DEP

57 COMPOST RECEIVING AREA Bob Spenser, WCSWMD

58 Who s Doing It? St. George, Maine Population 2,591 Transfer Station accepts yard waste, grass clippings, leaves, manure, specified food scraps (no meat or dairy), & wet & waxed cardboard from residents Town website promotes the compost operation & backyard composting as a way to reduce the town s overall disposal costs

59 On-Farm Who s Doing It? McEnroe Farm Millerton, New York (population 958) Manure, food waste & leaves Uses finished compost on farm & for bag & bulk sales Grow Compost of Vermont Started as a small farm operation in Moretown, Vermont (population 1,658) Farm residues & food scraps from restaurants, schools, & residents Bear Path Farm Whately, Massachusetts (population 1,496) Food scraps from the town transfer station to mix with local horse bedding, leaves, & produce waste Town employee hauls the food scraps to the compost operation

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61 Private Sector Who s Doing It? Cayuga Compost, Trumansburg, New York Collection services for businesses & special events Drop-Off Residential Composting Free compost drop-off locations in Ithaca and Trumansburg

62 Who s Doing It? Clear View Composting Orange, Massachusetts (population 7,839) Collects food scraps from several area town transfer stations, local schools, & community events The company owner built a special bear resistent enclosure to house collection carts Sonoma Compost Operates the Organic Recycling Program on behalf of the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency Yard trimmings & vegetative food discards collected curbside from residents of Sebastopol (population 7,379) Food scraps from restaurants in Sonoma (population 10,741)

63 Who s Doing It? AgRecycle - Pittsburgh Carla Castagnero, AgRecycle

64 BW Organics Rotary Drum For Food Scraps Mass Natural Fertilizer, Westminster, MA Bob Spenser, WSWMD

65 Quasar Food Scrap AD Facility Collinwood, Ohio Bob Spenser, WSWMD

66 Opportunities and Action Determine interest in composting & accepting municipally-generated organics Farms Private sector operations (landscapers, garden centers) Hauling Municipal? Farm? Private sector? Work with haulers to promote organics collection Ensure a steady supply of organics for processing

67 Opportunities and Action, cont. Work with state regulators & the operation Ensure compliance with regulations & permiting Help prevent contamination Partner to provide training to businesses & residents Foster market development Purchasing specifications Purchase compost for community use Promote to local businesses & residents

68 Promotion, Outreach, & Training

69 Getting Started with Public Awareness Who are the Stakeholders/Targets? Decisionmakers, residents, businesses, schools Who do you want participating? Costs/benefits to participants & community Outline program specifics & goals

70 Getting Started, cont. Explain: Requested behavior changes Program requirements Address concerns What s in a word? Food scraps Materials Management

71 What s the Program Requirements?

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73 Social Marketing Strategies Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, YouTube, Pinterest Resident Campaigns Neighborhood contests Door-to-door outreach Pledges Focus Groups Business Campaigns Focus group meetings Hands-on training efforts Business recognition programs.

74 Facebook Page

75 Website & Social Media Videos

76 Universal Signs & Symbols Consistent Images Consistent Colors

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79 Multilingual Real pictures All-in-One

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81 NERC Can Help We re experts in Waste reduction & recycling Recycling program design & implementation Organics management Green procurement C&D reuse & recycling Electronics recycling School reuse, recycling & composting Textile recycling programs Multi-stakeholder dialogues & negotiations & More! Fee for service program makes NERC s sustainable materials management expertise available at a reasonable price with outstanding results Athena Lee Bradley athena@nerc.org