I Love This Program!

Dad is leaving for San Francisco on Tuesday and everytime he travels out there I wish I could go with. I want to go there because there are so many cool environmental programs in the Bay Area. They are much more forward thinking in their concern for the environment and this begs the question - is this because they have to or because they want to?

One such program that I love takes place in Alameda County. It's a program that addresses a huge environmental problem, one that all of us contribute to. Unfortunately, I don't think the program would work in the midwest, at least not year-round.

The mission of Stopwaste.org is to reduce the waste stream for Alameda County. One way they have been accomplishing this is by offering food scrap recycling programs in cities in their county. Recycle food scraps? Oh yeah!

Did you know that food waste is the least recovered of all waste in the U.S.? Americans throw away an average of 1.3 pounds of food waste each day! What? Throw it away? If everyone had a pug there wouldn't be a food waste problem!

Check out this pie chart from the U.S. EPA to get see where food scraps fit into the waste picture.

I was surprised to see that the percentage of food scraps is larger than that of plastics, and is just behind yard trimmings. Hmmm. What do food scraps and yard trimmings have in common? They are both used in compost bins. The people from Stopwaste.org saw this correlation too and it prompted them to the start a food scrap recycling program. And believe me, it was needed. According to their website, food scraps and food soiled paper are the largest single items in their waste stream, accounting for 35% of all waste thrown away. That's a bigger percentage then the national average!

But how does the program work? It's so easy even a pug could do it! Residents are provided with a special food scrap pail that they keep in their kitchen. When dinner is over and there is food still left on plates, the scraps get placed in the pail instead of the garbage. This sounds really familiar to those of you who compost, doesn't it? Where this program differs from home composting is that meat and bones are accepted. Virtually nothing goes to waste.

The food scrap pail is emptied into the yard trimmings can, which is then picked up by the local waste management company. The food scraps and yard trimmings are dropped off at a facility where it gets processed for composting. Now this is the really cool part. After it's processed, it is put into piles called "windows" where it takes 3 - 4 months to break down into compost. How cool is that? The compost is then sold to farmers to grow crops and to residents to use on their lawns and in their gardens. This system is the poster child of closed loop recycling!

Like I mentioned before, this system would not work in the midwest (or any other climate where it snows) because we do not have yard trimmings year-round. I'm not sure if this system could be implemented during the months we do have yard trimmings, where the piles would turn into compost under a blanket of snow. I definitely think this is something to look into because of the amount of food waste that is rotting and not composting in landfills. There is no reason to throw away something that we need and can use.

Until a system is implemented where you live, the U.S. EPA created this inverted food pyramid to provide you with ways of lessening your food waste in order of priority.

The recommendation at the top of the pyramid is the easiest thing to do. Reducing the volume of food waste generated is really much easier to do then most people think. Think about why you throw food away. Most of the time it is because you make too much, put it in the refrigerator, forget about it, and then it goes bad. Off to the garbage can it goes. By only making what you can and will eat, you are not only reducing waste but also saving money.

If you find yourself with extra food, consider donating it to food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters. All of us participate in food drives several times a year but food is need year-round in most communities. Most organizations would gladly accept your food - it's just a matter of finding outlets for it. It may take some time to find some, but I know they're out there. And if they're not? Then there's an opportunity for you to start one.

Food scraps are used to feed farm animals all the time. If you've ever lived on a farm or visited a farm you know that nothing goes to waste. Feeding farm animals table scraps is a great use for food destined for landfills. If you live near a farm, this is a great opportunity for you to rid yourself of scraps that the animals will love.

There are lots of industrial uses for food waste with most of them originating at the source of meat production. Rendering is the process of converting waste animal tissue into materials that are used in foods and other products. Again, nothing on farms is wasted. I can't go into a lot of detail here because Mom doesn't eat animals and she's peeking over my shoulder.

Composting is a great way to convert food scraps into fertilizer. As we have seen above, a closed loop system is the most desired way to handle waste. Some people compost at home but others don't. Whether you do or don't, know that your food scraps are still valuable even though they're waste to you. We hear this all the time - one man's trash is another man's treasure. No where is this more true then in composting. If you don't compost, try to find a neighbor or friend that does. I'm sure they would love to add your scraps to their heap.

Sending food to landfills is the least desired option, as is burning it. Waste that sits in landfills never really breaks down into anything usable. It just sits and piles up until it reaches the top of the landfill. All landfills are eventually shut down because they get full. Full of stuff. Stuff that, for the most part, doesn't have to be there in the first place.

Incineration releases byproducts into an already crowded atmosphere. Remember, things never go away. Burning a piece of anything releases whatever was in that piece into the air, be it good, bad, or neutral for the environment. Incineration is a part of some communities because it is their only option. There has to be a better way.

It's kind of funny but all this this food waste talk is making me hungry. It's making Mom do a lot of thinking about ways of reduce waste and of educating the public about the problem of food waste. I guess we have different priorities. Like I said before, if each household had a pug, food waste wouldn't be a problem.