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Lessons In Community Composting: Collection and Processing — Growth And Insights
Community Composting can be done at different scales depending on business focus, location and goals for growth. The various methods and systems make each operation unique. Part III |
Live And In Person … Telling Our Organics Recycling Stories
In January, Ryan Cooper and Katie Kinnear of Rubicon® visited BioCycle’s office in Emmaus, Pennsylvania (PA), to learn more about our company’s history and to get our take on all things organics recycling — from source reduction to zero waste, with a focus on food. Rubicon is a technology company that provides smart waste and recycling solutions to businesses and governments worldwide. |
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NYS Organics Summit Webinar Recordings
Like many planned events this spring, the annual New York State (NYS) Organics Summit, sponsored by the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling, was cancelled. Instead, several sessions planned for the Summit were held as webinars throughout May. The recordings of each webinar are now available. |
Incorporating Depackaging Into Composting Operation
Missouri Organics Recycling has been composting food waste since 2005. It recently invested in a depackaging system to manage contamination and expand the range of materials accepted. |
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Editorial: Pandemic-Induced Organics Recycling
We hope that everyone is staying healthy during this ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. Business as usual is anything but usual, as all of you are likely experiencing as well. |
Madison, Wisconsin Rolls Out Food Scraps Drop-Off
The City of Madison began accepting food scraps for recycling at all three of its Streets Division drop-off sites. “This is a special voluntary recycling program available only at the drop-off sites,” explains Bryan Johnson, Madison’s recycling coordinator. |
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Depackaging And Digestion Demo In California
A multiyear food waste-to-energy demonstration project in Goleta, California has been evaluating a source separated organics (SSO) food waste depackaging system followed by anaerobic digestion (AD) of the slurried organics. |
EPA Food Recovery Challenge Awards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the winners — both nationally and by EPA Region — of its 2019 Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) winners. |
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New Jersey Governor Signs Food Waste Mandate
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed the food waste recycling mandate passed by the state legislature on March 5. A2371/S865 requires recycling of food waste by “large food waste generators” (i.e., certain commercial and institutional entities that produce at least 52 tons/year of preconsumer food waste) |
COVID-19 Budget Cuts Cause Temporary Suspension Of NYC Organics Collection
The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced on April 17 that, due to COVID-19 budget cuts, it is suspending the voluntary curbside composting program for food scraps and yard trimmings, beginning May 4, 2020. |
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Seattle’s Winning Strategy For Managing Organics
When programs, garbage collection fees, or regulations cause households to move organics out of the garbage cart and into the organics cart, costs for managing MSW go down. |
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Food Waste Solutions Amid The Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how food waste solution providers and food businesses must operate to safely do their work, states ReFED, a food-focused organization. |
Letter To The BioCycle Community: COVID-19 And Organics Recycling
Our existing knowledge of the behavior of coronaviruses in the environment can be applied to the current outbreak. |
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Feed Chickens, Not Landfills
A backyard chicken is expected to consume approximately 1.6 pounds of food scraps per week. |
Food Waste Reduction Roadmap For Farms
New guidance released on March 17 by the United Kingdom’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) provides growers with advice on how best to measure food surplus and waste on farms to identify the causes — and to help inform where action is needed. |
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Counting Food Waste Tons Landfilled In Central Ohio
he Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) released the findings of its 2019 Waste Characterization, which documented that up to 76% of the material currently being sent to the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill could be recycled or composted. |
March 5 Vote On New Jersey Food Waste Recycling Bill
State Senate takes up legislation that requires large generators to source separate and recycle food waste. |
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Editorial: Does Food Waste = Contamination?
There is a distinct air of inevitability that introducing food waste automatically introduces plastic bags, packaging, compostable product lookalikes, etc. |
New Jersey Food Waste Recycling — Countdown To January 14
The New Jersey Legislature is in the midst of a lame duck session that ends on January 14, 2020. Three pieces of food waste legislation are still pending and could be passed by the Legislature over the next several weeks. The three bills differ in key respects, and are based in part on legislation that has been enacted in other states. |
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Is Your Yard Trimmings Composting Site Food Waste Ready?
A new Community Toolkit walks municipal officials and facility operators through a series of considerations to determine if introducing food waste streams is a good fit. |
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Music Festivals Amp Up Organics Recycling Game
Farm Aid has greatly increased organics diversion since 2007. Inspired by its partnership with Farm Aid, Live Nation announced its zero waste goal in September 2018. |
Sanitation Districts Gear Up For Food Waste Codigestion
Los Angeles County began operating its commercial food waste preprocessing facility. The slurry will be digested at the county’s Joint Water Pollution Control Plant. |
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Deep Dive Into Food Waste Management (Sourcing To Digesting)
BioCycle REFOR19 continues our in-depth coverage of a wide range of topics related to food recovery and food waste recycling. |
Evolution Of A Food Waste Digester
A digester built in 2012 by a rendering company to process its residuals is evolving into a merchant facility to manage all types of food waste streams. |
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Front Of House Organics Collection
Food scraps and napkins made up at least 57 percent of the contents of the composting bin in every sector, contrary to the belief that FOH collections are mostly packaging. |
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Food Scraps Composting Grows In Illinois
Over a dozen composting sites accept food waste, sparking expansion of residential, commercial and institutional diversion programs. |
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The Organics Recycling Messaging Dilemma
Initial national survey findings on organics labeling, terminology, and color preferences shed light on how to communicate to the public to achieve a successful organics collection program. |
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Food Waste Depackaging Systems
Newer models separate packaging with the least amount of applied force necessary to avoid splintering of the packaging. Depackager options are described. |
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Winning Food Waste Reduction Strategy
What does it take for one of the largest hotels in San Diego, California, to reduce food waste? |
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Rhode To End Hunger
Rhode Island Department of Health program addresses the related issues of food wastage and state residents going hungry by connecting food donors and receivers such as pantries. |
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Food Waste Composting Infrastructure In The U.S.
A recently completed BioCycle survey identified a total of 185 full-scale food waste composting facilities in the U.S. |
Dual Purpose Composting Facility
New Veteran Compost site in Maryland combines public education and training with |
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Organic Waste Bans And Recycling Laws To Tackle Food Waste
State and local governments have explored policy avenues to reduce and manage food waste. |
Hyperlocal Food To Soil Loops
San Diego nonprofit collaborates with local generators, growers and gardeners “to transform food scraps into social, environmental and economic goods for communities.” |
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On-Site, Large-Scale Food Waste Composting
Ohio University’s in-vessel composting facility processes about 100 to 120 tons/month of food waste and amendment during the academic year. |
Growing A Food Waste Recycling Company
South Carolina-based Atlas Organics got its start collecting organics, then via a public private partnership, opened a composting facility at a county landfill. |
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Science + Prisons Create Innovative Solutions
Sustainability in Prisons’ vermicomposting certification highlights how environmental science collaborations in prison benefit society and incarcerated people alike. |
From Drugs To Bugs
My journey from a gang member to a Master Vermiculture Specialist. |
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Partnership Launches Correctional Facility Composting
Created via a unique public-private partnership, a converted cattle barn is being used to compost food waste from the prison and commercial generators. |
Waste Hauling Franchise Agreement Fundamentals
Niche haulers collecting food waste are encountering restrictions — and opportunities — posed by solid waste franchise agreements. |
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Facilitating Food Waste Digestion
Increasing volumes of commercial food waste, much of it contaminated or packaged, led digestion facility in South San Francisco to install a depackaging unit. |
K-12 School Food Recovery Roadmap
Authors detail their journeys to implementing surplus food reduction and recovery programs at their K-12 school districts. |
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Servicing Farms To Get Produce To Market
Professionally managed gleaning and value-added processing of gleaned harvests are contributing to enterprise creation and reducing the amount of food loss on farms. Part II |
Innovating To Reduce Wasted Food Left On Farms
Gleaning and minimal processing have facilitated enterprise development and markets for edible produce that is unharvested or cosmetically imperfect. Part I |
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Massachusetts Pioneers Food Waste Separators
Installation of food waste depackaging facilities across the state results in fewer commercial organics ban exemptions for packaged food generators. |
Residential Food Waste Collection Access In The U.S.
Survey of residential food waste collection programs across the country from June to November 2017 ultimately identified 148 curbside collection and 67 drop-off programs. |
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Keeping Compostables Out Of The Trash
Research study tests three different outreach strategies to reduce amount of food scraps and food-soiled paper in residential trash bins. |
Food Waste Reduction Strategies In K-12 Schools
The Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s K-12 audits and training, and the Environmental Research and Education Foundation’s SCrAP program, provide critical tools to reduce food waste. |
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Food Waste Infrastructure In Disposal Ban States
Using various combinations, from reduction and recovery to composting and AD, the four New England states with organics disposal bans are advancing toward their capacity goals. Part II |
Moving Generators Towards Food Donation
A survey found that large food providers in the City of San Diego are adopting a more environmental, social and economic approach for their food purchasing and diversion systems. |
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Digestibility Of Food Waste-Derived Animal Feed
Research study measured digestibility of targeted high value nutrients in three food waste streams in pig-feeding trial. |
Correctional Facility Adopts Multiple Food Scraps Practices
Monroe Correctional Facility in Washington State uses low cost options — vermicomposting, fermentation and black solider flies — to process food scraps. |
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Wasted Food Reduction Opportunities
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation found most food recovery and organics recycling activities are performed by small businesses, nonprofits, and churches and targets assistance to those entities. Part II |
Organics Disposal Bans And Processing Infrastructure
The implied logic is that if a supply of organic feedstock can be created, the infrastructure to process it will be built. Has that happened in New England states with bans? Part I |
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Increasing Composting Infrastructure In The Nation’s Capital
A recently released feasibility study analyzed options for recycling the District of Columbia’s food scraps and yard trimmings. |
Residential Organics Diversion In Toronto
Almost 160,000 tons of source separated organics were collected for anaerobic digestion and/or composting in 2016. About 78% came from households. |
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Food Waste To Renewable Natural Gas
Groundbreaking held in June for 180,000 tons/year anaerobic digester that will generate up to 3,000 dekatherms/day of renewable natural gas. |
South Carolina Convention Center Tackles Food Waste
Chef assists clients with accurate food ordering. Surplus is donated, and scraps are diverted to a composting facility. |
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On-Site Food Waste Pretreatment
Guide to equipment and systems for businesses, institutions and venues that manage food waste on-site. |
Merchant Biogas Plant Services Food Waste Generators
Connecticut anaerobic digester has capacity to process 40,000 tons/year of dry and liquid food waste. The host community is purchasing the renewable power. |
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Bugs Eat Our Food Waste
The practice of entotechnology is another sustainable method to organic waste processing — producing food, whether for people, animals or fish. |
Organics Recycling Lands At Major Airports
Where local infrastructure exists, systems are being put in place to make composting an easy addition |
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Measuring Food Loss And Waste
An international standard creates a set of requirements for accounting and reporting on food loss and waste, providing a common language for measurement. |
Status Of Organics Recycling In The UK
WRAP report on the United Kingdom’s organics recycling industry finds rapid growth in anaerobic digestion capacity, and a slight increase in composting capacity. |
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Depackaging At Solid Waste Transfer Station
A Massachusetts trash hauling and recycling company invested in a mechanical separation system for food waste, opening up outlets for the processed material. |
Keeping Compostables Stream Compostable
All to-go food serviceware must be compostable or recyclable in the unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County. |
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Hennepin County Residential Food Scraps Diversion
Municipalities in this Minnesota region offer food scraps collection to households using a voluntary participation approach. |
Teaming Up To Collect, Digest Food Waste
Natural Upcycling Services collects commercial food waste in western New York, diverting most of it to anaerobic digesters. |
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Food Recovery Innovators
Does Your Solution Have Significant Potential To Scale? |
Calculating Economic Impact Of Commercial Organics Ban
Quantitative and qualitative analysis conducted in Massachusetts indicates growth in employment and revenues |
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Tackling Food Waste In Iowa’s K-12 Schools
Audits at 17 schools found students generate more food waste at lunch than an initial estimate of 0.1 lbs/student, creating a baseline for prevention and recovery steps. |
Postmortem Of A Food Scraps Composting Facility
Founder and owner of Black Bear Composting in Crimora, Virginia, which closed its composting operation but continues to offer organics collection, relates his experiences and lessons learned. |
