NATIONAL OVERVIEW

T HE first nationwide survey of com- posting projects accepting commer- cial and institutional organics was conducted in the spring of 1995. At that time, there were 58 projects in operation or in a demonstration phase. In 1996, that number has

risen to 96, along with 14 sites in construc- tion, planning or permitting. The actual number of operational sites is higher (138) because the survey counts a state’s correc- tional facility composting program as one project, when in fact there may be multiple sites within that pro ram. Nine sites from last year were taken +i o the list, mostly pilots that did not continue into 1996. A few pro- jects that were in planning did not go beyond that stage. The majority of sites identified last year, however, continue to thrive and in some cases either have increased the amount of food and other commercial organics they accept, or take more diverse feedstocks.

While the regulatory thicket has not been cleared on food composting in most states, composters are having some success working with state regulators to obtain special per- mits. For example, Barnes Nursery in Huron, Ohio, operates a yard trimmings composting site. The company received spe- cial approval from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to add pasta, vegetables, apples, bread, and other food along with soiled waxed corrugated cardboard for one month. The state agency required extensive information on the materials, the generator and amounts. “It took me two years to get this approval,” says Sharon Barnes. “With the pilot completed, we are looking to be ap- proved on an ongoing basis.”

California, Maine and Vermont had the largest growth in food service composting projects. Massachusetts, New York, Wash- ington and Wisconsin also saw increases. Overall, 29 states are included in the 1996 survey compared to 24 in 1995. This growth closely parallels the states that are drafting provisions in their composting regulations to treat source separated organics as a separate category (which could facilitate permitting). “If you knock on the door often enough, some- body’s eventually going to answer it,” says Charles Cannon, Executive Vice President of

FOOD SERVICE COMPOSTING UPDATE A BioCytle/Food For The Earth Survey

Projects are expanding on all fronts, processing residuals from groce y stores, res taurants, institutions, food processors and other commercial generators.

Conni Kunzler and - Molly Farrell

Food scraps and soiled paper were separated by students at a Minnesota school (above left). Some schools compost on- site while others use haulers to transport materials to a centralized facility.

the Composting Council. “There are divi- dends for patient and persistent composters that appeal to regulators.” Ten states have some kind of draft regulations underway (Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Mas- sachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), with those in Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania close to completion. In California, Texas and Washington, provisions for source separated organics are complete.

On-farm and on-site composting are on the rise because these options offer favor- able economics in terms of lower capital in- vestment and fewer regulatory restrictions. Washington State University in Pullman saves $200,000 a year in avoided disposal costs by composting on-site. At Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, small-scale conpost ing of produce residuals on campus last year saved over $10,000. “This gave us the incen- tive to initiate a program to compost more of the organics we generate on campus,” says Bi l l Hochstin, Assistant Di- rector of Facilities Opera- tions and Management.

Grocers, institutions and restaurant owners continue to look for op- tions to cut disposal costs. The awareness among these groups about com- posting as a way to achieve that goal has grown since last year. “Saving money is what got us into com- posting,” says Chip Monte, food and beverage manag- er at Gurney’s Spa and Inn

Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire has experimented with diversion of kitchen preparation residuals to a composting area on the campus.

in East Hampton, New York. Tipping fees at the town’s recyclinglcomposting facility are $65/ton for mixed refuse and $Elton for re- cyclables and compostables. “Most of the compostable garbage is wet and heavy - mostly from the kitchen - so when you’re

” -

48 BIOCYCLE MAY 1996

ug

c

charged by the ton YOU can save a lot of mon- ey at the end of the year,” adds Monte. Gur- ney’s diverts 13 to 15 tons each month to composting, saving nearly $1,00O/month in avoided disposal costs.

Unlike last year’s survey, in 1996 it was decided to include sites that compost a com- mercial food processing residual. These sites (32 listed in the accompanying table) are not captured in any other survey. In many cases, they were included in last year’s survey be- cause they accept postconsumer organics as well. For example, by-products from Nestle have been composted at its site in New Mil- ford, Connecticut since 1990. The company plans to accept grocery residuals in the fu- ture. Anheuser-Busch composts its brewery sludge in New York and cranberry residuals from Ocean Spray are composted in Wiscon- sin. A sugary slurry produced at Ben & Jer- ry’s ice cream plant in Waterbury, Vermont is composted at the Intervale Compost Pro- ject in Burlington. In the Northeast, a num- ber of on-farm sites process fish residuals.

IT’S STILL ABOUT ECONOMICS Environmental benefits of composting

aside, most businesses are diverting residu- als to composting because they can save on disposal costs - or at least break even. Tip fees at composting sites are in most cases about half or less that of the local disDosal

option, not includ- ing collection costs. This cost savings passed along to businesses is a n overriding factor in the decision to sepa- rate organics for composting. The biggest savings

are for those institu- tions that can com-

post on-site. For example, Al- abama Correctional Facilities have started composting a t one location and have plans to compost a t six more. “At our start-up location, we went from $3,000 each month for hauling costs to $700,” says Mike Forster. state recvclinp:

coordinator. “Composting is making“a big dent in our budget.” Composting at four pris- ons in Georgia is having a similar effect. ‘We have reduced solid waste costs by 63 percent,”

mental Management, a consultant to the pro- ject. “And trips to the landfill have fallen from a dozen a month to two or three.” Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah saves $25 a ton in avoided disposal fees. ‘We have devel- oped a system that currently diverts 60 per- cent of our waste stream through recycling and composting,” says Roy Peterman, with the university’s Grounds Department.

Customers with greater volumes can save more simply because of hauling efficiencies. “Our wholesale customers save 50 percent off the landfill fee because they are producing

a says Nancy Allen of Community Environ-

”

Table 1,1996 Data On Food Service Cornposting Projects

Status/ Location/Composter Technologyflolume Feedstock

ALABAMA Montgomery/ Operational (1996) Food and soiled papers from cafeteria; Alabama Correctional Aerated static piles; n/a waxed cardboard; manure; cotton gin; Facility (model for 6 other yard trimmings

facilities in the state)

Scottsboro/Scottsboro Operational (1 993) Yard trimmings; biosolids; newspaper; Sanitation Dept. Windrow; 160 cy/day waxed cardboard; wood chips; wood

ARIZONA PhoenixMlestern Operational Vegetable culls; yard trimmings; Organics Inc. Windrow; 300,000 cy/yr biosolids; pallet scraps; recycled gypsum;

(inc. 25 to 50 tpd culls) manures

Tucson/Desert Compost Pilot (1996) Supermarket produce residuals; yard Windrow; 2 tons for pilot trimmings

ARKANSAS Russellville/ Planning Yard trimmings; food processing CDR Environmental Windrow; n/a residuals; manures; biosolids

CALIFORNIA ArcatalNorth Coast Operational (1993) Food from schools, cafeterias, Quality Compost Windrow; n/a restaurants; produce from distributors,

supermarkets; brewery grain; manure; yard trimmings

Cily of Berkeley/ Demonstration (1 996) Produce residuals; yard trimmings Applied Composting Inc. In-vessel (Celto Canadian); n/a

EncinitaslSolano Operational (seasonal) Kitchen food prep from fairgrounds/ Recyclers Windrow; 40-50 tpy racetrack; yard trimmings

Hollister/Herbert Ranch Operational Tomato residuals from cannery;

LamonWCommunity Operational (1 992) 325 supermarkets (produce and bakery Recycling Windrow; 600 tpd (dry) spoils); waxed cardboard; wood crates;

Windrow; 3,500 tonslmonth yard trimmings; manures; hay

yard trimmings; one-year pilot with a Target store (collecting food, soiled paper and garden residuals; have tested biodegradable bags)

Ojai/Flying Heart Farm Operational Precooked preconsumer food residuals Vermicomposting; 25 tpy from six restaurants; manure; yard

trimmings; wood chips

San Francisco/ Operational (2196) Kitchen prep; plate scrapings; San Francisco State In-vessel (Wright Environmental); napkins; wood chips University 1,000 Ibs/day

Watsonville/Sheriff‘s Operational Cafeteria residuals; wood chips Detention Facility Windrow; n/a

Golden/ A1 Organics Operational (1 994) Yard trimmings; wood; brewery residuals; (City of Boulder) Windrow; 150,000 cy/yr permitted to accept food

EnfieldlConnecticut Planning pilot Prison cafeterias; wood chips Dept. of Corrections, Windrow; 2,400 lbslday District 1 Complex (at full capacity)

LebanonlEarthgro, Inc. Operational (1991) Supermarkets; yard trimmings; bark;

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

In-vessel and outdoor windrow; manure; food processing residuals; 21 5 tpd water treatment residuals

New Milfordl Operational Food processing residuals (cocoa bean New Milford Farms In-vessel and windrow; gleanings, seasonings, pasta, bread, etc.);

Permitted for 54,865 tpy yard trimmings; planning to add super- market food and waxed cardboard

Dade County/Clean Operational Food scraps from county schools, Organic Waste Project Aerated windrow; 30-40 tons/wk University, restaurant, housing develop-

FLORIDA

ment; spoiled vegetables; mulch

BIOCYCLE MAY 1996 49

Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Composting Projects (cont’d.)

Status/ Location/Composter Technologylolume Feedstock

FLORIDA (cont’d.) Lake Buena Vistal Reedy Operational (1993) Food scraps from 10 Disney theme park Creek Energy Services Aerated static pile; 60 tpd (wet) restaurants; 28 hotels; wood debris;

manure; bedding; yard trimmings; biosolids; wood chips

Orlando/ Environmental Operational Produce residuals; composted Earthworm Proiects. Inc. Vermicomposting; several yard trimmings

tons/wk

GEORGIA Athens/University of Georgia

Jackson and Tatnall/ Georgia Department of Corrections (4 sites)

HAWAII Waimanalo/ Unisyn Biowaste Technology

Planning one-year demonstration (July, 1996)

Operational (1993) Windrow; 300-500 tons/month at each site

Operational Anaerobic digestion; 40 tpd

IOWA Des Moinesl Metro Planning (operational Waste Authority September, 1996)

Enclosed windrow; 30,000 tpy capacity

c- Prole/Organic Operational Technologies Windrow; 30,000 tpy Corporation

MAINE Addison/Elliott Batson Operational

Augusta/Hatch Hill Project Operational

Windrow; 500 cy/yrl

Windrow; 200-300 cy/yr’

EliotlBartlett Farm Services, Inc.

EllsworthlBlue Ribbon Seafood

Lisbon/Ricker Farm

MachiaslMaine Wild Blueberry Co.

New Sharon1 Cape Cod Hill School

Oronol University of Maine

Pittstonl Webb Family Farms

RockporVLand & Sea Composting

50 BIOCYCLE

Operational Windrow inside greenhouse; 150 cy/wk

Operational Windrow; 1-1.5 tpd

Operational (1 995) Windrow; 95 tpy (food); 135 tpy (leaves and manure)

Operational Windrow; 200-300 cy/yrl

Operational Static pile bins inside vector proof building; 95 tpy Operational (1990; food added 1993) Windrow; 4-5 tpd

Operational Windrow; n/a

Operational; Windrow; 30 cy/yr

Commercial food service residuals; yard trimmings

Cafeteria food residuals; yard trimmings

18 supermarkets; 4 restaurants; 3 hotels; airline catering service; 2 drug stores; 10 produce companies; 8 fish whole- salers; food processing and grease trap

Supermarkets; restaurants; food wholesalers; industrial printers; agricultural processors; millworks

Food processing and agricultural residuals; particle wood; nonrecyclable paper (egg companies); seed and feed bags; fruits and vegetables; manure; yard trimmings; waxed cardboard; sawdust; wood chips

Seafood processing residuals; sawdust; leaves; chipped trees

Cafeteria residuals from school; leaves

Manure; ground newspaper; yard trimmings; brush chips; bone gel; planning to add waxed cardboard and fish residuals

Crab and shrimp processing residue; sawdust

Food prep residuals and paper napkins and towels from two college cafeterias; leaves; manure

Blueberry processing residuals; herring cuts

Elementary school cafeteria food residuals; hay; leaves

Kitchen prep and food scraps from 4 dining halls and other food services on campus; leaves and yard trimmings; manure; lumber scraps

Supermarkets; leaves; manure; shell scraps

Manure; mussel and fish residuals; sawdust; plans to get permitted for up to 500 cy/yr to process cafeteria residuals and other Type 1 materials

such a large amount,” says George Steven- son, of Stevenson’s Environmental Earth- worm, a vermicomposting business in Orlan- do, Florida. “Customers who generate less save about 25 percent.” Stevenson’s charges a flat fee to collect and vermicompost.

Clearly, collection economics can be more favorable where organics routes are estab- lished and that infrastructure can grow. In general, however, the survey identified few- er routes that collect small amounts of or- ganics on a frequent basis and more where 2 haulers collect large amounts of organics 2 less frequently. At Shop-Rite stores in New Y

Jersey, unsalable produce, bakery, fish residuals and waxed corrugated cardboard 2 are stored in a compactor and collected every t 25 days. “We are not putting organics into 6 anything other than compactors,” says Tim Vogel, who over- sees the program at Wakefern Corpora- tion, owner of the Shop-Rite stores. “The average pick up ranges from 12 to 20 tons.” Prior to sepa- rating organics for composting, com- pactors were picked up every 12 days. “Two compactors are optimal,” he adds, uone for organics and the other for trash and then you just pull them when you have to.” Wakefern has 25 stores that divert or- ganics to composting; an internal brochure is in the works to s tandardize s tore procedures for the program. “It’s just di- verting an awful lot

There are 37 cornposting sites at correctional facilities across New York State. Shown here is an aerated static pile facility at Watetiown Correctional, which

recesses 1,OOO Pbs/day of food residuals.

out of &e waste stream, which is great,” says Vogel. “Every store is saving money.”

ADDING FEEDSTOCKS Within the food service industry, institu-

tional and supermarket organics typically are easy to access and are in sufficient quan- tities to satisfy economic realities. Cafeteria preparation residuals and plate scrapings are generated in high volumes at institu- tions. Food processing residuals are another easy target for cornposting feedstock.

Many sites move from yard trimmings or other green waste processing to add produce or processing residuals. Carla Castagnero a t &Recycle in Pittsburgh has spent the last three years working with Pennsylvania reg- ulators to add food processing and commer- cial organics to the feedstocks processed at its composting site. “The regulations are pretty much done now and we are planning to start composting an expanded mix of or- ganics this summer,” says Castagnero. In San Francisco, NorCal Waste Systems is

MAY 1996

planning to collect retail and wholesale gro- cery residuals at a regional facility where they are already processing yard trimmings. They estimate collecting 8,000 tons per year, according to Claudia Hung of the City of San Francisco recycling Office.

Earth Care Farms in Charlestown, Rhode Island processes yard trimmings, animal manures, bedding and fish residuals. State agencies have been working with the com- pany for over a year and a half to get a com- mercial food residual composting pilot un- derway at the site. “We’re cheaper by $15 a ton than disposal and we still can’t generate business interest,” says Mike Merner of Earth Care Farms. “I am looking forward to cornposting food scraps. It is the wave of the future for composters and we have only

scratched the surface of what is out there.”

More sites also are be- ginning to take a wide range of feedstocks. Or- ganic Technologies Corpo- ration (OTC) in Prole, Iowa is permitted to ac- cept wood (particle board, plywood and two by fours), livestock feed, non- salable fruits, vegetables and grains, waxed corru- gated cardboard, cellulose meat casings for hot dogs

a d sausages, Kraft paper feed sacks, and animal

manure. Mike Danley, one of OTC’s owners, says the company has learned to only accept materials it can use. “Large quantities of certain materials are available to us a t cer- tain times of the year, like waste feed in the winter,” he explains. “We are not permitted to stockpile feedstocks, so if we took in too much of one particular material, we’d need to compost it right away, which means we wouldn’t get a good end product because we wouldn’t have enough bulking agent or moisture on hand to mix with it.”

While the Prole facility is not permitted to accept meat or most liquid wastes such as whey or soda for odor reasons, liquid mate- rials are a consistent feedstock at Silver Creek Materials in Fort Worth, Texas. “No single material makes up more than three percent of our business,” says Robert Dow, owner of Silver Creek. The site accepts liq- uids, solid food residuals and wood pallets from a variety of sources. Distributors of beer, wine and liquor bring the liquids in 18 wheeler trucks. Other materials arrive in closed box trucks and rolloffs. Waste Man- agement of Fort Worth brings 40 tons a day of grocery and other food residuals from 60 customers in the Fort Worth area.

APPROACHES TO PROCESSING The majority of sites still utilize outdoor

windrows, although a t a few locations, the windrows are inside buildings. Another 15 sites employ some kind of static pile method (with or without aeration) and 11 use an in- vessel or agitated bay system. The use of ver-

BIOCYCLE

. .” Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Cornposting Projects (cont’d.)

Status/ Location/Composter TechnologyNolurne Feedstock

MAINE (cont’d.) Southwest Harbor/ EMR Inc.

ThorndikelKnox Ridge Holstein Farm

Windham/ Maine Correctional Center

Yarmouth/Glowood Farm

MARYLANO Croftonflop Pro

EdenlBanks of Eden Farm

MASSACHUSETTS Hadley/ Food Bank Farm

Ipswitch/Agresource Inc.

Ipswilch/Appleton Farms

Jamaica PlainlGreenleaf Composting Co., Inc.

Northampton/Smith Vocational Agricultural High School Farm

Westminster/ Mass Natural Fertilizer

MICHIGAN Lansing/ Great Lakes Composting Center

Mackinac Island/ Mackinac Island Dept. of Public Works

MINNESOTA Baudette/Lake of the Woods County

HutchinsonKity of Hutchinson

Mankato/Southern Minnesota Construction

Operational (seasonal) Windrow; n/a

Operational Windrow; Up to 2,000 cy/yrl

Operational (1992) Windrow; 780 tpy

Operational Windrow: n/a

Operational (pilot) Windrow and static pile; 54 tonslmonth (produce)

Pilot (1 994) Vermiculture; 480 cy over 13 months

Operational Windrow and static pile; 200 Ibs/day

Operational Windrow; 10,000 tpy

Operational (1986) Windrow; 3600 cy/yr

Operational Windrow; 500 tpy food and 5500 cy/year other organics

Operational (1994) Windrow; 150 tonslmonth

Operational Passively aerated windrow; 35,000 tpy

Pilot in planning (Summer, 1996) Aerated windrow; 30 cy/trial with 6 planned trials

Operational (1 993) Aerated static pile; 3,000 cy/yr

Operational (1990) Windrow; 2500 tpy

Operational (1 995) In-vessel (NaturTech); 4-5 tpd

Operational In-vessel (NaturTech); 23,000 cy/yr

Crab residuals; sawdust

School cafeteria residuals; fish residuals; will seek supermarket feedstocks

Supermarkets; cafeteria; manure; beans; waxed cardboard

Yard trimmings; manure; ground crab and shrimp shells; permitted for food scraps

Wholesale produce residuals; yard trimmings

Cafeteria food scraps; seaweed; wood ash; yard trimmings; algae ; OAF (from poultry processing)

Produce residuals; leaves; dropoff organics from residents; negotiating with college for organic residuals

Leaves and yard trimmings; fish residuals; fried food (vegetables and fish) products from processors

Manure; shrimp and crab shells; seaweed

Manure (farm and zoo); food from open air market and food distribution program; yard trimmings

Pre and post consumer organics from hospitals and schools (food and soiled papers); food processing organics; food prep residuals from 9 restaurants; waxed cardboard, fruits and vegetables from 8 supermarkets

Yard trimmings; food processing residuals (cranberry); paper mill sludge; manure; sawdust; wood chips

7 fast food restaurants; yard trimmings; supermarket residuals (will test biodegradable products)

Yard trimmings; manure; residential and commercial organics (20-25 restaurants; 2 large hotels; 8 smaller hotels)

Yard trimmings; leaves; restaurant, cafeteria and supermarket residuals; newspaper; waxed cardboard; soiled Paper

Biosolids; manure; wood shavingdchips; leaves; sawdust; soy scraps; permitted to take food scraps and paper products

Yard trimmings; manure; soybean processing residuals; permitted to compost source separated organics

M A Y 1996 5 1

Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Cornposting PrOjeCtS (cont’d.)

Status/ Location/Composter TechnologyNolume Feedstock

MINNESOTA (cont’d.) Preston/Fillmore County RRC

Swift County/ Swift County

MISSOURI St. Louis/St. Louis Produce Market

Whitman Air Force BaselAg Renu

NEW HAMPSHIRE tianover/ Dartmouth College

NEW JERSEY Burlington County/ Burlington County

I,

Egg Harbor Township/ Atlantic County Utilities Authority

Parlin/ American Soil, Inc.

Wrightstown/ Woodhue, Ltd.

NEW YORK Ealdwinsville/ Anheuser-Busch co.

Village of Bergen/ Larsen Engineers

ErooklynlBlue Ridge Farms

EuskirW Wilrnot Farms/ Agricycle

Clarence/Kreher’s Poultry Farms

East Hampton/ Town of East Hampton

Frost Valley/ Frost Valley YMCA Camp

Ithaca/lthaca College

52 BIOCYCLE

Operational (1992) Aerated windrow; - 2000 tpy

Operational Aerated windrow; 12 tpd

Planning In-vessel (NaturTech); 5 tpd (up to 25 tpd at full-scale)

Pilot In-vessel; 40 cy/wk

Pilot in planning (operational Fall, 1996)

Planning In-vessel (Wheelabrator); 30 dry tpd biosolids plus other residuals

Permitting In-vessel (agitated bays); 159 tpd

Operational (1993) Windrow; 10-15 tpd

Operational In-vessel and windrow; 50,000-60,000 tpy

Operational In-vessel (IPS); 50 wet tpd and 70 tpd sawdust

Operational (in start-up) Anaerobic digestion; 1 tpd (expect 5 tpd by Summer, 1996)

Demonstration In-vessel (Green Mountain Technologies); 30 cy/day

Operational Windrow; Permitted for 63,000 CYIY r

Operational In-vessel (IPS); 22 tpd

Operational (1995) In-vess.1 (IPS); 10 tpd (35 tpd total)

Operational (1990) Aerated static pile; 63/tpy

Operational (1993) Aerated static pile; 2 cy/day (food)

Restaurant; cafeteria; supermarket; residential organics; waxed cardboard; soiled paper

Residential and commercial organics (food, waxed cardboard and other soiled papers from 15 hotels, 45 restaurants and 15 supermarkets)

Produce and floral residuals; wood chips

Tested all organics on base including food; biosolids; paper; yard trimmings

Kitchen prep residuals from dining halls and on campus hotel (food, waxed cardboard and other soiled paper); yard trimmings

Biosolids; yard trimmings; wood chips; food processing by-products; institutional and restauranthpermarket organics; source separated collection pilot completed 2/96

Commercial food residuals; biosolids; yard trimmings

20 supermarkets (food and waxed corrugated cardboard); yard trimmings; leaves; not permitted for postconsumer food service

Leaves; yard trimmings; supermarket organics (food, waxed cardboard and other soiled papers); potable water residuals

Brewery processing residuals; sawdust

Vegetables from food processing operation; food from one school cafeteria; food from 300 residents (planned for Summer, 1996)

Carrot and potato peelings; cabbage; onions; celery

Food; soiled paper; waxed cardboard from supermarkets and institution; yard trimmings; wood chips; manure

Manure; yard trimmings; permitted to accept food

Yard trimmings; biosolids; commercial and residential organics; have tested various biodegradable products

1 dining hall; wood chips; waxed cardboard; sheet rock

3 cafeterias (food only from prep areas and plate scrapings); wood chips

micomposting is increasing, with seven sites in 1996, up from two sites last year.

This year’s survey also found growing use of small-scale containers and composting vessels (a total of seven projects) suitable for on-site use. San Francisco State University installed a 1,000 lb/day Wright Environmen- tal Systems unit in early 1996. As part of a demonstration program in New York City, Blue Ridge Farms (a food processor in Brook- lyn) is testing a 30 cubic yard capacity con- tainer from Green Mountain Technologies. Grasslands, Inc. in Malone, New York (owned by Waste Stream Management) also will be using the Green Mountain system to process up to eight tons per week of food and soiled paper from restaurants, schools and supermarkets. That facility is scheduled to go on line in June, 1996. Another container technology, NaturTech, is being used in Hutchinson and Mankato, Minnesota to pro- cess a range of source separated organics, in- cluding biosolids and soy processing residu- als. Recently, the board of directors of the St. Louis, Missouri produce market approved the purchase of NaturTech containers to pro- cess up to 25 tonslday of vegetative and flo- ral residuals. The project will start with five tonslday of commercial organics and five tons/day of amendment.

On-farm composting also continues to grow. Hooking up grocers, institutions and farms is intensifying in the Northeastern states. There is minimal capital investment and permitting typically is easier. In Northampton, Massachusetts, the Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School Farm - part of a vocational agricultural program - receives approximately 50 tonslmonth of compostables from restau- rants, grocers and institutions, and up to 100 tons per month of food processing resid- uals in season. “All the work we do to make the compost and the windrows is done with farm equipment to keep it as simple as pos- sible,” says Ed Maltby, who works at the Smith facility. However, composting on- farm usually requires a stream free of plas- tic and other noncompostables since there is usually no preprocessing. Although capital costs are low, farmers still need to invest in labor and management time on a regular ba- sis to prevent problems from occurring.

After successful participation in a pilot collection and composting project in Min- nesota last year, Emily Adair, director of Environmental and Community Actions at Erickson’s, a grocery chain in the Midwest, initiated a pilot for three of their Wisconsin supermarkets. “We wanted to find an alter- native to landfilling our organic waste and there were no composting facilities in the area,” says Adair. A one year pilot began in February, 1996 with the help of a grant from the Recycling Market Development Board in Wisconsin. “It is going very well,” says Adair. The University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point is composting a total of 20 tons per month of produce, waxed corrugat- ed, floral trim and some bakery residuals from three Erickson’s stores using a low

MAY 1996

technology approach. “The goal is to find a long-term, low capital investment solu- tion,” says Adair, “which is why we will look for potential farms that could accept this material while we are doing the pilot a t the university.”

COLLECTION STILL A TOUGH ISSUE Collection continues to be a problematic

issue for food service composting projects, primarily because of the economics. Projects are resolving this issue in a number of dif- ferent ways. Organics collection is still pri- marily done through a traditional hauler, with some retrofitting their trucks for or- ganics. In some cases, however, businesses are hauling their own organics and recy- clables, or composters have become the col- lectors as well.

Waste Stream Management in Malone collects food residuals in a truck mounted with a Walinga body normally used to pick up renderings. The 16-foot long, 20-yard ca- pacity vehicle is outfitted with a scale t o weigh the 90-gallon carts used bycustomers. The company also uses a packer truck to col- lect organics. “It has an air valve that locks the tailgate against the truck so we don’t have problems with leachate spilling out on the roads,” says Rob Bronson of Waste Stream Management.

In East Hampton and Montauk, New York, restaurants and a grocery store are bringing organics to the composting facility in their own m i c l e s . In the past, local haulers were unwilling to pick up organics. This is changing, with haulers expected to be collecting at a number of commercial busi- nesses later this year. “Some businesses have made a considerable investment in self-hauling vehicles,” according to Peter Garnham, East Hampton’s Recycling Infor- mation Officer. Gurney’s Spa and Inn, a large ocean front resort, purchased a packer truck for $40,000 to haul its recyclables and compostables. The owner of two restaurants in Montauk purchased two trailers which are left at the restaurants and brought to the composting facility when full. Other restau- rants, delicatessens and a chicken farm use pickup trucks to haul their organics. A total of six tons of organics are brought to the fa- cility by businesses each day. “These amounts should double during the summer tourist season,“ says Garnham.

At North Coast Quality Compost in Arca- ta, California, a flat-bed pickup with an electric lift gate is on the road six to eight hourslday, four days a week, collecting food residuals from restaurants, produce dis- tributors and grocery stores. “We provide clean, washed 32-gallon plastic containers twice a week to our customers,“ says Brad Rother of North Coast Quality Compost. Source separated food residuals are collect- ed from over 25 businesses each day in Eu- reka and Arcata. “Our collection is free of charge,” he adds. “We make money through selling the compost.”

Dan Holcombe of Oregon Soil Corpora- tion, a vermiculture operation in Oregon

Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Cornposting Pmjects (cont’d.)

Status/ Location/Composter TechnologyNolurne Feedstock

NEW YORK (cont‘d.) MalonelGrasslands. Inc.

Millerton/ Moody Hill Farms

New Palz/ Mohonk Mountain House Resort

NY State Department of Corrections (37 prison sites throughout state)

Rikers Island/ New York City

Rochester/Rochester Institute of Technology

NORTH CAROLINA Le Jeune/Camr, Le Jeune

Rose Hill/McGill Regional Composting

OHIO Cincinnati/Ag Renu

HuronlBarnes Nursery

OREGON Oregon City/Oregon Soil

PortlandlPortland Metro

Construction (operational June, 1996) In-vessel (Green Mountain Technologies); 8 tons/wk

Operational Windrow; 9,000 cy/yr

Operational (1 992) Windrow; .5 - 1 tpd

Operational (1990) Windrows and aerated static piles; 6,400 tpy

Construction (operational Fall, 1996) In-vessel (IPS); 15-25 tpd

Pilot (1 994) Windrow; n/a

Pilot (1 0/95-10196) Windrow; 3 tpd (food)

Operational Windrow; n/a

Planning (Summer, 1996) In-vessel; 1,000 tpy

Pilot Windrow; 20 tpd (yard trimmings site is operational)

Operational Vermiculture; 4-6 tpd

Planning pilot (6/96)

PENNSYLVANIA Lackawanna County/ Pilot (1995-1996); Lackawanna County Solid Windrow; n/a Waste Authority

New Cumberland/ Pilot (1 996) Defense Depot Supply Aerated static pile; n/a Susquehanna

Slippery RocWSlippery Pilot (1996) Rock University Windrow; n/a

Pittsburgh/AgRecycle Planning (Summer, 1996) Windrow; n/a (yard trimmings site is operational)

RHODE ISLAND CharlestownEarth Operational Care Farms Aerated windrow; 6,000 tpy

TENNESSEE Wartburg/Morgan County Operational

Regional Correctional Facil. Windrow; 19 tonslmonth (plus 3 other state facil.)

Food and soiled paper from restaurants; schools and supermarkets; waxed cardboard

Manure; yard trimmings; Culinary Institute of America and other food service

3 dining rooms; manure; yard trimmings

48 prison cafeterias; cow manure; wooden pallets; cotton mattresses; brush

60,000 meals from prison cafeterias (14,000 residents); wood chips; waxed cardboard; yard trimmings

Preconsumer fruit and vegetable trimmings from cafeteria; wood chips; shavings

Yard trimmings; mixed paper; food from three mess halls; manure; wood chips; biosolids

Manure; wood; food processing by- products; permitting for food scraps

Yard trimmings; manures; food residuals from zoo

Waxed cardboard and other paper; yard trimmings; manure; fish; grainery and coffee residuals; plan to add supermarket residuals

Food residuals from 16 supermarkets; shredded waxed paperslcardboard

Feedstocks from supermarkets, restaurants and other commercial generators

Produce and grocery store residuals; manure; yard trimmings; wood chips

Kitchen prep residuals from three cafeterias at defense installation; full-scale project in planning with other institutional generators Doughs, lettuce, cut vegetables from one cafeteria on campus

Yard trimmings; produce from whole- salers; food processing; manure; food and waxed cardboard from supermarkets

Yard trimmings; manure; bedding; fish processing residuals; permitted for food

Food residuals from cafeteria: sawdust

BIOCYCLE MAY 1996 53

Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Composting Projects (cont’d.)

Status/ LocationComposter Technologyflolume feedstock

TENNESSEE (cont’d.) Chatanooga/Goodwill Industries

TEXAS Big Spring/Mid-Tex Detentions, InC.

Fort Worth/Silver Creek Materials Co.

Houston/Natures Way Resources

UTAH Provo/Brigham Young University

VERMONT Burlington/lntervale Compost Project

c

Colchester/St. Michaels College

Craftsbury Common/ Sterling College

Lyndonville/Northeast Kingdom Waste Management District

Montpelier and SpringfieldNermont Compost Company

Stowe/Trapp Family Lodge

Vergennes/Basin Harbor Club

WASHINGTON KenVlddings

Maple ValleylCedar Grove Compost Co.

North Bend/Echo Glen Children’s Center

PullmanMlashington State University

Shoreline (Fir Crest Carnpus)/Food Lifeline

Tacoma/City of Tacoma

54 BIOCYCLE

Operational (1995) Vermiculture; .5 tons/wk

Operational (1 993) Windrow and vermiculture; 10 cy/day

Operational Windrow; 150,000-200,000 cy/yr

Operational Static pile; 15,000 cy/month

Operational (1993) Static piles; 3,500/ tpy

Operational (1 987; 1993 food); Windrow; 1500 tpy food and 80,000 gal/yr liquid

Operational Windrow; 120 gal/day

Operational (1995) Passively aerated windrow; nia

Pilot (June-Nov., 1996) Bins made from pallets; 4 tons for pilot

Operational Windrow; 25 wet tpd and 1 dry tpd

Operational Windrow; 53 wet tons/yr of food

Operational Windrow; 55-65 tpy (food)

Operational Windrow/static pile; 3,000 tpy

Operational (1 989); Windrow/static pile; n/a

Operational (1995) Covered aerated static pile; 2,600 lbs/wk

Operational (1994) Windrow; 9,000 tpy

Operational Vermicomposting; .5 - 1 ton/wk

Pilot (since 1992) Windrow (at Northwest Cascade); 300 tpy

Manure; produce; shredded paper

3 prison cafeterias (food and soiled paper); yard trimmings; wood

Supermarket organics; waxed cardboard; liquids such as beer, wine, liquor, milk, juices, sodas, vinegar; food soiled paper; plate scrapings from restaurants; wood; sheet rock

Wood; leaves; grass; Christmas trees; banana residuals; planning to add supermarkets

Yard trimmings; pallets; unmarketable paper fiber; manure; wood; cafeteria pulp

Liquid and solid food (from supermarkets, restaurants, hospitals, schools; food manufacturers; nursing homes, one correctional facility, and University of Vermont); leaves; manure; wood chips

Grass clippings; leaves; hemlock bark mulch; food residuals from cafeteria

Pre and postconsumer food residuals from school cafeteria; bedding; manure

Food residuals from two schools; restaurant

High strength dairy residuals; manure; bedding; wood

Food from lodge (tea room, kitchen and bikery); leaves and brush; manure; sawdust

Food residuals from 4 restaurants; manure; yard/landscape trimmings

2 supermarket chains (produce and waxed cardboard); 1 restaurant; shredded paper; yard trimmings

Preconsumer vegetable and grain waste from supermarkets and restaurants; waxed cardboard; wood crates

On-site cafeteria food scraps; soiled paper; wood shavings; may add biosolids in future

Manure; coal ash; cafeteria food scraps; yard trimmings; potting mixes

Spoiled produce; canned goods; leaves; some cardboard and straw

Grocery; restaurant; floral residuals; yard trimmings

City, uses two Ford C600 flat bed trucks to haul preconsumer produce from 16 Fred Meyer supermarkets and two wholesale pro- duce houses. “Other haulers may not be as particular as we are about what goes into the 5 truck,” says Holcombe. “We need to have 5 zero contaminants in the waste we feed the y worms.” The produce is collected in 32-gal- lon lidded Brute barrels, which are dumped 2 into a box on the back of the truck. Holcombe 2 estimates that the two truck drivers collect f 150 to 200 barrels each day, equaling five to seven tons of produce.

STORAGE AND HANDLING Storing the materials

prior to collection is anoth- er area where generators have found diverse solu- tions. While Shop-Rite stores use 30-cubic yard compactors which are picked up about every 25 days, other supermarkets and businesses still use carts. “Poly carts are not a long-term solution, espe- cially for our larger cus- tomers,’’ says Jonathan Cot t , sa les manager a t Waste Management in Fort Worth, Texas. “Some of our customers are filling 20 poly car ts t w o times a week, and that takes up a lot of space.” He expressed concern, however, that large compactors filled with heavy organics would violate road weight restric- tions when transported to a composting facility.

Waste Management has discontinued using Dlastic

Some commercial generators using the reeycling/com- posting facility in East Hampton, New York have invested in their own collection vehicles. Materials arriving at the plant are preprocessed prior to composting.

bags to line the organics collection carts. “It slowed us down because we had to take the old liner out and put a new one in,” adds Cott. “We also collect a lot of heavy produce and when someone threw a watermelon in a cart, it would snap the rub- ber band holding the liner in place and the liner would get pulled into the cart.” The company is now using a spray pump filled with disinfectant and water to clean the carts. The wastewater is emptied out at the Silver Creek composting facility with the food. Cott notes that the wastewater adds to the weight of the truck, which results in a higher tipping fee.

MARKET OPTIONS Markets for the finished compost include

home gardeners, landscapers and farmers. In addition, the end product also is mixed with other materials to produce soil blends that are sold in bulk or bags. “In the begin- ning, the whole reason we got into compost- ing was to make a product for our farm,” says Andy Harper of the Intervale Foundation in Burlington, Vermont. “But now, 25 percent

MAY 1996

goes on our own land and the rest is sold in bulk. We sell more volume to landscapers but most of our customers are backyard gar- deners.” Intervale is in the process of start- ing a bagging line.

Appleton Farms in Ipswitch, Mas- sachusetts does not charge a tip fee and ba- sically breaks even on processing. Revenues are derived from its growing business €or the finished compost. “We market in bulk - and deliver - to home gardeners and landsca-

pers,” says James Geiger of Appleton Farms. (‘Average growth over the last 10 years is close to 30 percent each year.”

Almost all on-site processors close the loop, using the finished product to maintain grounds, in construction and on-site gardens, or on small farms. At Reedy Creek Ener-

gy Services (Disney World), a large percent of the finished compost is sold to orange growers. The remainder is spread on Walt Disney World roadways and is available to employees. Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, uses the compost on campus grounds as a mulfband reports an overall water savings of 33 percent. Finished com- post from Community Recycling in Sun Val- ley, California (which processes organics from the 328 Vons supermarkets as well as other generators) goes mostly to carrot, gar- lic and grape growers. The company is con- ducting crop response research and is find- ing improved yields.

WHAT’S NEXT? With plenty of food service organics avail-

able, the development of supportive regula- tions, and a growing interest on the part of businesses and communities to recover this material, there is ample room for continued growth in composting sites that process these feedstocks. Portland, Oregon is a good case in point. “We estimate that there are 113,000 tons of pre and postconsumer food waste in the region that can be composted,” says John Foseid, Portland Metro’s compost project coordinator. The regional govern- ment agency is sponsoring a $175,000 pilot project to create teams of haulers and com- posters to collect and compost food and oth- er organics from grocery stores, restaurants and other commercial generators.

There also is room for continued innova- tion. In East Hampton, New York, for exam- ple, Peter Garnham, has proposed a town regulation that would require businesses to recycle or compost one primary material. For retail, it would be cardboard; for restaurants and other large food generators, it would be food residuals. Haulers would pick up one type of material one day, and another on the next day. “I am still convincing the town and

Table 1. 1996 Data On Food Service Cornposting Projects (cont’d.)

Status/ Location/Cornposter TechnologyNolurne Feedstock

WISCONSIN Ashland/Northland College

BaysiddRare Earth Farms

Bristol/Pheasant Run

Oneida County/Oneida County Solid Waste Department

River Falls/University of Wisconsin

Pilot (began November, 1995); 3 bins (8’ x 8’) ; 10 cy/yr

Operational (1993) Windrow; 100-300 tpy

Operational Windrow; 7,000 tpy

Operational (in start-up) Aerated static pile (under shed roof); 3,000 tpy (at full-scale)

One-year pilot (1996) Windrow; 20 tons/month of supermarket organics

Food from cafeteria; sawdust

Food pulp from 1 restaurant; grasses; manure; agricultural residuals

Cranberry residuals and other food processing organics

4 supermarkets; long-term care center; paper mill residuals; adding school cafeterias and restaurants

3 supermarkets (produce, bread, floral, waxed corrugated cardboard and other soiled paper); bedding; yard trimmings

cy = cubic yard(s) ; tpd = tons/day; tpy = tons(vear ’Represents food processing or food waste fraction only Waxed cardboard = waxed corrugated cardboard

haulers to do it,” says Garnham. “I had a fo- cus group of hard-core nonrecyclers, and they said they might actually recycle if it were only one major item.”

In western Massachusetts, the Center for Ecological Technology (CET) is working on a project t o hook up farms and food service businesses in a composting cooperative that will aim a t favorable economics. (‘Right now, we are looking for interested parties to pro- vide resources so that we can put the whole program together,” says John Majercak, pro- gram manager a t CET.

The results of the 1996 survey clearly point to an upswing in composting sites that are processing - or planning to process - food residuals and food-soiled papers. And there is no question the potential is there to recover more. The U S . Environmental Pro- tection Agency’s Characterization of Munic- ipal Solid Waste in the United States in- cluded food scraps for the first time in its 1995 update. The study identified 500,000 tons of food scraps recovered for composting out of 14.1 million tons generated.

Ultimately, however, the driving force for continued development of food service com- posting is being able to find an economic route to organics collection and recovery. The survey reveals that there has been a great deal of flexibility, creativity and com- mitment exerted to accomplish this task. Projects that are serving specific needs and yielding true economic benefits for organics generators, haulers and composters are here to stay. rn Conni Kunzler is with Food For The Earth, an initiative of the Composting Council, National Audubon Society and the food service industry, based in Alexandria, Virginia. Molly Farrell is a Contributing Editor to BioCycle. Martin Simpson and Rebecca Roe of the Composting Council, and Nora Goldstein of BioCycle, con- tributed to this report.

The survey identified fewer routes that collect small amounts of organics on a frequent basis and more where haulers collect large amounts of organics less frequently.

BIOCYCLE hlAy 1996 55