Q&A
Organics Recycling as a Long-Term Sustainable Solution
Harvest, a leader in harnessing the maximum value from organic materials, sat down with Waste Advantage Magazine to answer some general-audience questions about a hot topic: recycling organic materials.
What is organics recycling?: Organics recycling is conventionally known as composting: it’s a natural process in which micro-organisms and macro-organisms break down organic material, typically yard debris and food scraps, into a dark crumbly soil amendment. Examples of organics recycling occurring naturally are around us every day: leaves that fall from the trees break down and return to the soil; bananas beginning to turn brown on your counter have begun to compost. Compost happens everywhere.
Commercial composting operations take the natural process and gain efficiencies through monitoring airflow and moisture content. Organic materials get introduced to the system, then get processed or composted, then they get returned to local farms and gardens. This process is often referred to as the “Organic Cycle” – it’s a cycle of carbon, energy and nutrients.
A newly recognized, value-added component to organics recycling is anaerobic digestion. Like composting it’s a naturally occurring process. In a gastight vessel, naturally occurring bacteria turn the sugars, starches and fats into biogas, a renewable natural gas. The Organic Cycle stays intact with anaerobic digestion: after the digestion process the nutrients get returned to soil through natural fertilizers or compost-based soil products. Liquid fertilizers can also serve as a source of nutrients for fields and crops.
What are the benefits of organics recycling to those involved—the consumer and the hauler, recycler, etc.?: The benefits to composting are nearly endless. The process of organics recycling benefits each stakeholder. Haulers don’t have to transport organic waste to distant landfills. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with both transportation and landfill disposal. Communities are able to reach their recycling targets by sorting out the organic fraction of the waste stream. Farms, gardens, nurseries, public works, and stormwater control projects then have access to high-quality, nutrient-rich soil and compost products. Residents and businesses benefit from generating less-stinky trash, and having fewer trips to the curb if they decide to backyard compost.
The products of organics recycling benefits the soil and surroundings. Compost improves soil structure and plant growth by:
Replenishing and storing organic nutrients in forms available to plants
Reducing erosion and water run-off
Loosening clay soils for better root development
Retaining moisture in sandy soils so plants need less water
Supporting beneficial soil life which aids in feeding plants and discourages disease
Charles E Kellogg wrote in 1938, “Essentially all life depends on the soil… there can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.” That still holds true today. One could claim that good soil is the foundation of a strong society.
How is organics recycling a sustainable solution?: Our society faces many interlocking issues in regards to waste management.
Landfills have become more expensive, more distant, and are filling to capacity with organic waste that future generations will have to handle;
Communities are seeking sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels;
Farms, gardens, nurseries and stormwater control projects demand high-quality, nutrient-rich soil and compost products;
We need to meet recycling goals and greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Organics recycling sits at the intersection of these issues with an organics recycling solution. Charles Swindoll once wrote, “We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” Organic “wastes” could be such an opportunity when we begin to view them instead as organic “resources.”
One interlocking intersection we’ve been exploring at Harvest is the overlap between Peak Oil and Peak Soil. Just as we’ve reached a peak in oil production, we have also tipped the scales with our limited access to fertile soil: the US Department of Agriculture estimates that productive topsoil is being lost by erosion at a rate of 500,000 acres a year. By defining a new path for organics, we will find solutions to these interlocking challenges.
How percentage of food waste can be diverted from landfills by implementing organics recycling in a community? What are the main reasons food waste should be diverted from landfills?: According to the EPA, 150 million tons of organic waste (food waste, paper and paperboard, wood and yard waste) are discarded into landfills each year.1 About 14 percent of that municipal solid waste is food scraps. For the reasons listed above, food waste should be diverted from landfills. Food waste is full of valuable energy and nutrients that should be put to their highest and best use. These materials should not go to landfills because they contain energy and valuable nutrients.
How can a community begin to implement an organics recycling program? How can it be managed and sustained over time?: There’s no need to “reinvent the wheel”—many organic diversion programs have been launched successfully across North America. The key ingredients include:
Source Separated Organics (SSO) – Residents and food waste generating businesses such as restaurants, supermarkets, and food service industries sort their scraps the same way they recycling cans, paper and bottles. Sorting out scraps from the municipal solid waste stream reduces the processing cost and improves the quality of the final soil product.
Organics Processers – Composting or anaerobic digestion facilities need to be located within a reasonable distance.
A market for the resulting compost and soil products – Landscapers, farms, fields, nurseries, gardens, and parks all demand high-quality nutrient-rich natural fertilizer products.
What types of technologies are available to help communities/haulers with their organics recycling programs (including after the material is picked up)?: Various types of technologies are available in different regions. Some markets are more developed that others depending on land use laws, policies, incentives, and community buy-in. The best thing that people can do is contact their local municipality and ask, “What organics recycling options are available?” They may have tips on backyard composting, there may be a local greenwaste drop off center, or there may be greenwaste collection.
Harvest harnesses the maximum value from organic materials by providing recycling solutions, generating clean, renewable energy, and producing soils, mulches and natural fertilizers. For more information, visit www.harvestpower.com.
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Interested in food waste and waste reduction? Check out “American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half Of Its Food” by Jonathan Bloom.
Interested in composting? The EPA has valuable references here: http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm
Interested in anaerobic digestion and biogas? The American Biogas Council’s website is chock full of juicy information: http://www.americanbiogascouncil.org/