natureworks’ university of washington campus study: …€¦ · olympic organics, bremerton, wa ....
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NatureWorks’ University of Washington Campus Study: Compostables and Food Waste Diversion
2019
What is CMA?
7 compost industry pioneers
20 compost facilities
Annual processing capacity of over 1.5 million tons
Field validate compostabilityacross major processing technologies
Our model is to ensure compost manufacturing remains sustainable by addressing issues with feedstocks
Combining Separate Systems
Supply Chain Compost and
Solid Waste
Meeting Place
Questions to Answer: What types and how many compostable
products are in the landfill stream and the organic
stream?
Does the characterization data and observations show a trend to support that the
use of compostable products in increases the
amount of food collected in organics recycling
programs?
Study SiteUniversity of Washington CampusSeattle, Washington
green.uw.edu/dashboard/landfill-reduction
Measurement TargetsThe study was designed to provide data and observations in the following areas.
Overall measurement of foodservice packaging within organic waste stream (as compostable feedstock or contamination)
Amount of food waste collected that can be assumed to be directly correlated with FSP usage in commercial food service operations
Amount and type of FSP packaging, and the amount of food waste in the landfill streams
Stakeholders
Campus Staff
Housing and Foodservice
Hauling Companies
Cedar Grove Organics LLC
New Day Recycling
Sorting Facilities
Cedar Grove Composting, Maple Valley,Washington
Olympic Organics, Bremerton, WA
Setting Up Sites On Campus
Collection Areas
Sorting Areas
On Campus Sampling Areas
Food Service Sample Site Containers and Sample Size
# of sub samples
Food service sample sites Organics (O)(FOH+BOH)
Landfill (G)(FOH+BOH)
2 Central campus commons (Husky Den in “the Hub”)
Compactor 6 x 64 gal totes
2 Dormitory food service #1 (“The 8” food service area at McMahon Hall)
24 64 gal totes 6 x 64 gal totes
2 Dormitory food service #2 (The Local Point food service area within Lander Hall)
Compactor 6 x 64 gal totes
Tote Drops On Campus
Audits from December 1, 2017 through March 6, 2018
Site Sources Sample Retrieved
Audit Dates/Sites
Wt. of Material Sorted
Audit #1- OrganicsThe Hub
December 1, 2017
December 1, 2017
589.56
Audit #2- LandfillLander and McMahon Halls
December 6, 2017
December 7, 2017
245.9
Audit #3- OrganicsMcMahon Hall
January 10, 2017
January 10, 2017
516.37
Audit #4 – OrganicsLander Hall
January 12, 2018
January 12, 2018
561.58
Audit #5 – Landfill February 28, 2018
March 1, 2018 241.41
The Hub, Lander HallAudit #6 – OrganicsThe Hub
March 2, 2018 March 2, 2018 184.32
Sorting
Landfill Stream Primary Sorting Categories, Excluding Food
Categories Constituents
Cardboard Boxes - Coffee Sleeves
CG Compostable FSPCompostable products that are on the CG/CMA list of accepted products
Compostable FSP non-CG/CMA
Products that have met compostability standards that are not listed on the CMA/CG website
Film Plastic non-compostable
Packaging - Gloves - Garbage Bags - Bread Bags - Soda Syrup Dispensers
Hard Plastic non-compostable Bottles - Containers - Lids - Cups - Jugs - Bread Bag Ties
Metal Aluminum Cans - Aluminum Tins - Tinfoil
Food Related Paper Napkins - Deli Wraps - Cheese Slice Partitions
Glass Bottles Soda Bottles - Condiment Bottles
Plastic Bottles Water Bottles - Soda Bottles - Other Drinking Bottles
Other GarbageUtensils - Portion Cups - Bottle Caps - Straws - Broccoli Ties
RecyclablesCold Cups - Plastic Lined Paper Cups, Cartons, Boxes -Plastic Containers
Non-Food Components, Organics Stream
Category Constituents
Cardboard Boxes - Coffee SleevesCG Compostable FSP
Compostable Products that are not on the CG/CMA list of accepted products
Compostable FSP non-CG/CMA
Products that have met compostability standards that are not listed on the CG/CMA website
Film Plastic Compostable bags
Hard Plastic Utensils - Lids - Containers
Metal Utensils - Lids - Tinfoil
Food Related Paper Napkins - Deli Wraps - Deli Bags
Glass Bottles Soda Bottles
Plastic Bottles Water Bottles - Soda Bottles - Other Drinking Bottles
Other Garbage Chip Bags - Candy Wrappers - OPV Cartons
Recyclables Water Bottles - Microwaveable Plastic Containers
Results
Total, All Organics and Landfill Materials Combined
487.31
1851.83
Organics to Landfill Ratios in Weight (lbs.), All Audits Combined
LANDFILL ORGANICS
Landfill20%
Organics80%
Organics Stream Percentage of Food to Compostables and “Garbage” Categories
Item Description
Wt. (lbs.)
% of Material
Food 1046 57%
All Compostable Products
742 40%
Garbage 46 2%Recyclables 16 1%TOTAL 1851 100%
1046.62
742.79
46.22 16.2
Weight Lbs.
Food All Compostable Products Garbage Recyclables
Category (by wt.) of Non-Food Components in Organic Stream
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Cardboard
CG Compostable FSP
Non-CG Compostable FSP
Film Plastic
Hard Plastic
Paper
Metal
Glass Bottles
Plastic Bottles
Other Garbage
RecyclablesObservations: Paper and compostable food service items made up a majority of the non-food portion of the organics stream. Contaminants consisted of hard plastic and film plastic, as well as some cardboard.
Organics Stream List of Compostables by Type (Non-Food)
Item DescriptionNumber of
ItemsCompostable Utensils 2786Compostable Hot Cups 1924Compostable Wheat Straw Bowls 766Compostable PLA Portion Cups 740Compostable Wheat Straw Plates
709
Compostable PLA Lids 679Compostable Wheat Straw Clamshells
659
Compostable Hot Cup Lids 476Compostable Straws 380Compostable PLA Lined Deli 369Compostable PLA Deli Containers 233Compostable PLA Clamshells 197Compostable Cold Cup 185
Observations: The highest number of compostable FSP in the stream were utensils, with PLA lined hot cups, portion cups, lids, straws, deli containers, and PLA clamshells and cold cups making up many of the items on a piece by piece count.
Compostables by Type
Landfill Material by % For Each Category
Item Description % of SampleFood 25.01%Film Plastic 22.53%Compostable Paper 16.61%Gloves 15.37%Garbage 9.01%Recyclables 4.70%Garbage Bags 1.89%Compostable PLA Lined Paper Hot Cups 1.53%Compostable Utensils 0.58%Compostable PLA Deli Containers 0.39%Plastic Lined Paper Cups 0.33%Non-Compostable Clear Plastic Containers 0.29%Compostable Paper Portion Cups 0.28%Compostable Cold Cup 0.27%Compostable PLA Lids 0.26%Compostable Wheat Straw Bowls 0.20%Compostable PLA Lined Deli 0.14%Compostable PLA Clamshells 0.14%Compostable Wheat Straw Plates 0.11%Compostable PLA Hot Cup Lids 0.10%Compostable PLA Portion Cups 0.09%Compostable Wheat Straw Clamshells 0.07%Compostable Straws 0.06%Bread Ties 0.03%
100.0%
Categories by Weight As Percentage of All Samples
Food
Film Plastic
Compostable Paper
Gloves
Garbage
Recyclables
Garbage Bags
Compostable PLA Lined Paper Hot Cups
Compostable Utensils
Compostable PLA Deli Containers
Observations: Food continues to make up the largest component of the landfill stream while non-specified film plastic makes up the next highest component (at 22%), and other compostable papers and gloves combine to make up over 30% of material being sorted for landfilling.
Food and mis-sorted compostables make up 29% of landfill stream
25%
4%70.76%
Food FSP Other
Approximately 45.8% of sorted items from the trash were compostables with approximately 25% being food, 16.6% compostable paper and 4.2% as compostable FSP.
FSP vs. Recyclable vs. Garbage in Organic Stream (excluding food scraps) in lbs.
2%
92%
6%
Recyclables Compostable Products Garbage
FSP makes up 92% of the non-food portion of the organics stream by
weight.
https://green.uw.edu/dashboard/disposal-costs
Food and All Other in Landfill Stream
25%
75% Food
Other Material
Non-specified film plastic and gloves is 37% of all LF
37% of non-food items in landfill stream are plastic
film (with large percentage gloves)
Plastic Film Gloves Make Up 15% of Landfill Stream
15%
25%54%
6%
Gloves in Landfill
Gloves Food Other Material Compostable
Gloves are both a contaminant in
compost streams and a significant landfill
waste
Summary Points
Employing an “all compostable” suite of items in dine-in foodservice operations appears to supports less contamination in compost streams
Even within source separated, closed loop compost collection systems, food makes up the largest fraction of what is sent to landfill (25%), while non-specified film plastic makes up next highest percentage (22.5%).
Compostable replacements for gloves and film plastics could help raise the level being diverted from landfill to composting to as high as 66%.
Compostable FSP appears to support the diversion of a significant amount of landfill tonnage to composting.
Compostable options should be considered to replace recyclables within closed loop, dine in compost collection systems to help eliminate cross-contamination in both streams.
Contaminants in Compost are Costly!
For more information on this study, contact:
Tim Goodman, NatureWorks [email protected]
Liz Gignilliat, University of Washingtonuwrecycling.com and [email protected]
Susan Thoman, CMA [email protected]