The movement is recent, gaining momentum in the past five years. Grocery stores, retail stores, correctional facilities and even individual residents in some areas provide material to composting facilities for recycling. In 2010, just 2.8 percent of food waste was recycled, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Businesses and advocates have paired to create a recycling pipeline, separating organic waste that haulers transport to one of Ohio’s 19 authorized composting facilities. The initiative has grown quickly.
“Five years ago, we didn’t even know what was possible,” said Tonya Woodruff, director of the Ohio Grocers Foundation, which leads the Ohio Food Scrap Recovery Network, a cooperation between the foundation, a unit of the Ohio EPA and interested businesses.
Now, operations like Marvin’s Organic Gardens of Lebanon accept tons of organics, including everything from pumpkins, corn, raw meat, tomatoes and grapes to grass clippings and recyclable boxes. The new deliveries are mixed with older compost to decompose in piles that sit as long as a year or two before they’re sold as fertilizer.
Officials hope these efforts decrease wasted food scraps, which accounted for 20.5 percent of all waste discarded into landfills and incinerators in 2010. Not all of that food waste is available for recycling, but plenty of it is, experts said.
“I think it’s recycling at its finest,” said Marvin Duren, owner of Marvin’s Organic Gardens. “You can take waste and make it useful, because it’s all natural.”
Organizing efforts
In 2007, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Grocers Foundation began talks about developing a guide to recycle organic waste. Challenges included cost, a system to separate waste, finding haulers and identifying recycling facilities.
The efforts increased about two years ago, as the Ohio Food Scrap Recovery Network took shape with cooperation from entities that produce large amounts of waste, such as grocery stores, restaurants, schools and hospitals. While individual businesses didn’t know how to recycle such waste, they wanted to get involved.
“We had so much interest, even from the independent grocers,” Woodruff said. “But the thing is, grocers have a small margin of profit, especially independents, so even though they wanted to do it, they might not have been able to afford it.”
Improvements made the process easier. The network worked with haulers to optimize pickup routes and save time. Some have placed separate containers near regular dumpsters for the food waste.
Haulers have used the momentum to partner with individual municipalities. One of the first to do it was Miami Twp., which began offering organics recycling through Waste Management in 2010. Residents can add their recyclable food waste to yard waste in identified containers, which Waste Management transports to Marvin’s Organic Gardens.
“It’s coffee grounds, banana peels, things like that,” said Greg Rogers, assistant township administrator for Miami Twp. “But you have to make sure you can recycle it, and you can’t let it sit long.”
Experts hope such efforts will boost overall recycling efforts. In 2010, about 34 percent of the 250 million tons of all garbage was recycled, led by paper (62 percent). That was more than double the rate of 16 percent in 1990.
“When you think about it, the number of things we can recycle is increasing,” said Beth Schmucker, a Waste Management spokesperson. “This is part of that.”
Colorful compost
Duren was a Waffle House franchiser for decades. During that time, he learned that the more attractive his stores’ exteriors were, the more business he drew.
He began gardening for enjoyment, using material from the large composting area he keeps behind his 1888-built home about 5 miles south of Lebanon. About three years ago, he began allowing haulers to bring in food waste, which his company mixes with the existing compost. The pile heats naturally, breaks down the waste and becomes fertilizer.
His personal garden has benefited, which he explained while beaming on a recent afternoon. He has noticed immediate differences in the areas fertilized with compost including food waste, he said.
He hopes to do even more business in the future while encouraging others to use the food waste-included compost.
“I’m so far ahead of my need,” he said. “I’m permitted to take up to 50 tons a day, and I have so much of it right now.”
Duren said he was encouraged to broaden his composting business after hearing a lecture from the personal gardener for Prince Charles of Wales. Someone asked what made the best fertilizer, and he responded “food.”
Experts hope more businesses and consumers think like Duren as they try to decrease the amount of usable food waste that is discarded.
“This is fairly new for our business, but we do believe recycling is important, and we’re committed to it,” said Sara Cullin, a Rumpke Waste and Recycling spokesperson. “We’ve invested in products and services, but we need participation.”
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