Food waste and food-soiled paper make up about 25 percent of a typical
household’s waste. If you aren't into gardening, your probably don't have a compost pile out back and if you live where we live, food scrap recycling isn't an option yet. Most of us just toss our food scraps into the trash or down the garbage disposal.
However, in some places like
Alameda County in California and
Bellevue, Washington you can now recycle food waste and food-soiled paper, fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grinds and paper
filters, tea bags, meat, cheese, bones, pizza boxes, paper plates and
napkins in with the leaves and grass. San Francisco even has a
mandatory composting and recycling ordinance in place.
In an article called
Recycling Food Scraps in this month's issue of Time Magazine, Bryan Walsh writes:
"Everyone knows we should recycle plastic, glass, aluminum and paper--or
at least, we know we're supposed to. But for leftover Chinese takeout
and other kitchen scraps, which make up around 30% of our residential
garbage stream, there are usually only two options: do the messy work
of making compost for the backyard garden--or toss the glop down the
disposal or into the trash.
But San Franciscans like Ellisa Feinstein have another option for their
organic waste: put it out on the curb with the glass, plastic and
paper, where it will be picked up and recycled by the city. For the
past several years, San Francisco has offered curbside recycling of
food scraps, shipping leftovers to industrial-scale composting
facilities, which process 300 tons of organic waste a day. For
Feinstein, the curbside program allows her to salve her green
conscience without the ickiness that came from composting her own used
tea bags. "It's great because it helps me do my job of diverting
garbage from the landfill," she says. "And it's really easy."
Food
to Fuel
Want fries with that fill up? With Pacific Biodiesel you can.
Hawaii-based Pacific Biodiesel, Inc. converts recycled cooking
oil into fuel that powers generators, commercial equipment,
vehicles, and marine vessels. Biodiesel production diverts
cooking oil from landfills, while its use reduces emissions
of major greenhouse gases and substances such as carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, hazardous diesel
particulates, and the acid-rain-causing sulfur dioxide.
Rockin'
to Fight Hunger
Rock and Wrap It Up! (RWU) is a nonprofit program that arranges
the collection and local donation of leftover food from rock
concerts, sporting events, political rallies, and college
and school cafeterias. There’s a lot of food leftover
from these venues—as a rule, caterers prepare 10 to
15 percent more than they need for an event—and RWU
makes it simple and satisfying to donate the leftovers.
Shopping
for Change
Recycling food scraps is good for the environment and business!
Supermarkets in Massachusetts are reducing, recovering, and
recycling their food waste and saving money by participating
in the state’s voluntary supermarket recycling certification
program.
Food
Scraps Go to the Animals
Don’t throw away your food waste! Barthold Recycling
and Roll-Off Services picks up food scraps from commercial
businesses and feeds the scraps to pigs and cattle.
Hat tip to Sue for the Time magazine mention.
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