There is a very big difference in levels of food waste recycling when you compare rates achieved by food manufacturers and those of food retailers or wholesalers. The gap is close to forty percent based on a recent study done by the  Food Waste Reduction Alliance.

The study analyzed data from 2011 from thirteen food manufacturers and thirteen grocery retailers and wholesalers. The findings showed that food manufacturers donated or recycled almost ninety five percent of their food scraps or waste. Grocery stores and wholesalers diverted a little over fifty five percent of food scraps and waste generated. However, food manufacturers often generate more food waste overall while retailers often face legal barriers or geographical challenges to recycling or donating unwanted food.

Close to seventy five percent of all diverted food waste from manufacturers was used for animal feed, whereas grocery stores and wholesalers primarily donated food to social service organizations or composting locations.

Both industries combined were responsible for sending over four billion pounds of food waste to landfills or incinerators.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: If you’re in the food business, be it a grocery store, restaurant, catering enterprise, or food manufacturer, it pays to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to compost food waste or donate uneaten food to local social service organizations helping the disadvantaged. Food waste is a very hot topic these days as more and more businesses want to reduce their waste disposal fees and new avenues to recycle and divert are coming available!

New York City is getting serious about collecting food scraps to be used in composting. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has recently expressed to the media the need to create a citywide food waste recycling program.

Officials from the NYC Sanitation Department have said they expect one hundred and fifty thousand single-family residences and more than one hundred high-rise apartment and condominium buildings to sign up for the pilot program next year, with more home and building owners participating in subsequent years. It is the Mayor’s plan to ultimately made food scrap recycling and composting mandatory for everyone living within the city limits. In addition, over six hundred schools will also participate.

The city expects to deliver over one hundred thousand tons of organic waste material per year and is hoping to convert the food scraps into biogas.

The city also has several small scale food recycling programs that it is currently testing including a five-day-per-week food scrap collection program at a large residentil apartment complex and another for private residences in Staten Island.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Food scraps and other organic yard waste typically end up in landfills. What is your community or building doing to turn this waste material into an asset instead of a liability? When you go green you can save green every month!

The United States Department of Agriculture, along with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently launched a new program called the Food Waste Challenge. The national contest will involve government agencies, communities groups and organizations, farmers, manufacturers, retailers, and processors to work together and within their own organization to commit to reducing waste food.

Program participants will report the activities undertaken to reduce the amount of food waste produced, recover more amounts of food fit for human consumption, and recycle food waste for uses such as composting and animal feed. The USDA and the EPA have set a goal of recruiting four hundred participants in the program.

The collaboration between the USDA and the EPA is designed to involve businesses from different sectors throughout the country and to help train and educate the population about the growing problem of food waste. As part of the challenge, programs will also be designed and made available to help reduce food waste in meal programs offered in schools as well as updating procedures for making it easier to donate meat and chicken products to food pantries.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: When was the last time you checked your waste disposal bin to see what’s in it? Depending on the nature of your business, there may be a sizable about of food waste. Instead of paying to dispose of that waste, why not look for ways to reduce, reuse or recycle? You’ll save some green while helping others and the environment!

The supermarket and grocery store chain, Kroger, has announced a new anaerobic composting and digestion system designed for converting food that is not eligible for donation or sale into a fuel efficient biogas that will be used to power a regional distribution center in Compton, California.

Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, the national retailer anticipates that the new system will be responsible for processing and converting in excess of fifty five thousand tons annually of unsalable and unconsumable organics and food waste – approximately one hundred and fifty tons of waste material each day. It is anticipated that the energy generated will be responsible for close to twenty percent of the energy required by the regional distribution center.

The program is the first of its kind for Kroger and received support and assistance from California Governor Jerry Brown, in addition to CalRecycle, the California Environmental Protection Agency, the City of Compton, and Resource Recovery.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Food and organic waste material has many uses beyond feeding people and animals! If your business generates a substantial amount of food waste on a monthly or even weekly or daily basis, it’s worth investigating your options other than disposing of it in a landfill. You’ll be saving money on your disposal fees if that food waste can be turned into compost or biogas energy!

The Department of Sanitation in New York City has recently formed a partnership with a Manhattan real estate firm to offer organic matter and food waste collection to an apartment building on the city’s West Side. This will be the first multi-resident dwelling to be provided with such a service. The food scraps collected from the building will be composted.

The Helena residence building has six hundred units and the organic material will be collected five days a week. The collection focuses of food waste as well as plant material. Plastics that are labeled biodegradable or compostable will not be allowed as will animal wastes, liquids, and foams.

As compostable food waste and organic material comprise close to a third of the residential waste stream, the new recycling and composting program provides the residents and owners of the apartment building with an opportunity to reduce waste disposal fees by diverting waste away from landfills. The city, through its composting program, will then have additional landscaping materials in the form of nutrient-rich compost, to enhance and support trees and plants around the city.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Food and organic waste collection is the hottest topic when it comes to diverting waste from landfills and reducing your trash disposal fees.  What is your business or municipality doing to incorporate food waste recycling into your waste plan? It’s a great way to save green while “going green”!

Twenty-three higher education institutions in the New England are have joined forces with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reduce food and organic waste n their college campuses. Called the Food Recovery Challenge, the goal is to reduce over one and a half million tons of food scraps and organic waste each year throughout the region. The Food Recovery Challenge, helps schools to reduce, recycle, and donate excess food which not only saves the colleges money, but also helps to feed the homeless, needy, and unemployed, while protecting the environment.

Eleven college and universities from Massachusetts, three from Rhode Island, three from Maine, three from Vermont, two from Connecticut, and one from New Hampshire are involved. The names of participating schools can be found on the EPA’s website.

In addition, campus dining service operators such as Aramark, CompassUSA, and Sodexo are also involved and the Food Recovery Challenge has been formally endorsed by the National Association of College and University Dining Services as a means for attaining sustainability goals.

Leftover, uneaten generated that is prepared in cafeterias and dining halls in schools, hospitals, and restaurants is considered safe, and has the potential to feed millions of Americans who have limited financial means. Composting food waste, which is no longer safe for human consumption, can create a low cost additive to enhance soil quality. 

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Diverting food waste from the disposal stream and landfills not only helps to save the environment but it also helps you to save on your trash disposal costs. If you business generates food waste, looking into alternatives to disposal could be in your best interest!

Lawmakers in the state of Connecticut have recently introduced legislation designed to prioritize the reduction of solid waste and increase recycling, particularly in the area of food scraps and waste and other organic materials. The Bill, which is currently in the state Senate is designed  to clarify an existing law by establishing a launch date of January 1, 2014 and a project completion date of 2020 by which time all waste generators in the state; residential, business, commercial, and industrial would be required to divert their food and organic waste from regional landfills.

Since 2011, Connecticut has had a law which required food manufacturers, wholesalers, conference centers, and supermarkets that annually produced more than one hundred and four tons of organic waste materials to recycle at designated organic waste processing facilities.

The proposed bill also has language that aims to stop solid waste collectors from intermingling recyclables with collected solid waste. This has been proposed  to reduce and possibly eliminate the contamination that renders many recyclable materials useless and therefore without any financial value on the recycled materials market.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: Recycling of food waste and organic materials such as grass and yard clippings is a popular topic in many communities and for businesses such as restaurants, landscapers, and property managers. If you’re currently spending money to dispose of this waste, it’s time to look into recycling and composting options. Not only will you be helping to reduce materials in local landfills but you’ll also save money as well!