The Washington Department of Ecology recently published several reports on food waste prevention and how businesses manage organic waste in the state. SCS Engineers is republishing these reports as resources for other states looking to understand how we can work together and reach the goals of putting edible food on people’s plates and slowing climate change by recycling food and yard waste.
In this blog/article, we provide the name of the report or study with a brief description and a link to the resources. We hope this information is helpful for local and state efforts to divert, recycle, and reuse the largest component of U.S. waste, organic material. Each report has a summary below; the links will take you to the full version.
Food Donation Workgroup Report
A workgroup looked at ways to improve donating edible food from restaurants, grocery stores, food processors, and food distributors. With members from many industries, the workgroup made nine recommendations with key strategies discussed in the report. These recommendations include pilot projects and grant programs, more transportation and cold storage, and improved data. Read the food donation report.
Compost Market Study
The Compost Market Study forecasts volumes of incoming feedstocks and finished compost based on the organics management laws taking effect and population growth. With more residents and businesses using curbside service to send their food and yard waste to a compost facility, more finished compost will be available for sale. This report estimates volumes of incoming organic feedstocks and finished compost through 2035 at the state and county levels. Local governments and compost facilities can use this report to plan for opportunities in the coming years. Read the compost market study.
Business Organics Management Research Report
Interviews with restaurant associations, owners, and staff lead to findings about how the Business Organics Management Area (BOMA), a designated geographic area in Washington state where businesses have a legal requirement to manage their organic waste, impacts them. The report recommends short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to help businesses comply with the law and manage their food and yard waste in a way other than putting it in the trash. These technical assistance recommendations are practical and action-based, making them more valuable for Ecology and its many partners who work directly with businesses. Read the business organics report.
Organics Rulemaking Updates
The solid waste handling standards (chapter 173-350 WAC) in Washington are being updated to improve how organic materials are collected and processed. Public sessions and comment periods are in place, and we direct you to the proposed new language here as supplementary material.
Zero-waste Principles of Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling
Recycling includes collecting used, reused, or unused items that would otherwise be considered waste; sorting and processing the recyclable products into raw materials; and remanufacturing the recycled raw materials into new products. Consumers provide an important key to successful recycling by purchasing products made from recycled content.
States and localities realize that “recycling” also includes repurposing edible food to food banks, composting food scraps, yard trimmings, and other organic materials, upscaling, and reuse. [Link]
Besides the social benefits, USEPA outlines the many business and environmental benefits of recycling, including:
Additional Resources:
By Michelle Leonard, Solid Waste Planning and Recycling; Sustainability
National Expert
The term describes the desired end-state and a call-to-action rethinking what we regard as trash as potentially valuable resources. The overall goal of zero waste planning is to establish the goal of diverting at least 90 percent of the waste generated by all sources from a landfill.
Zero Waste is to:
Communities across North America have embraced the concept of Zero Waste, some by adopting a Zero Waste goal or policy, and others by completing a Zero Waste Plan. The plan includes implementing zero waste programs and infrastructure in a manner most sustainable for the community. Many communities establish a long-term goal of Zero Waste by setting interim goals to achieve and benchmark measuring progress. Goals may be quantified over years, by percentages, or by environmental factors relevant to your community.
There are several factors critical to sustainable Zero Waste programs.
Phasing in programs encourages acceptance of new policies, programs, and facilities, and the behavior modifications that come with them. Instead of continuing to focus on results at the end of the process, we find ways to fulfill the equation “waste = resource” within our industrial and societal systems. This mindset change helps to lead us to more systems that eliminate wastes to the environment, avoiding systematic deterioration of the environment. These systems are modeled by nature as the most efficient, less costly, and most profitable ways to move toward Zero Waste.
Programs that contribute to Zero Waste include upstream policies and programs. Over 71% of the waste generated happens before products and materials enter our homes, offices, schools and institutions. Upstream policies and programs aim to reduce the volume and toxicity of discarded products and materials and promote low-impact or reduced consumption lifestyles.
Producer Responsibility is an upstream activity, including advocacy at the state level and implementation of local ordinances for hard to handle materials, such as pharmaceuticals, sharps, batteries, CFLs. Local jurisdictions can support state legislation for Extended Producer Responsibility for materials such as carpet paint, etc.
Downstream programs aim to ensure the highest and best use of products and packaging at the end of their useful lives. They establish a hierarchy of:
Managing these materials will most likely require a combination of facilities which may include:
The issue of how Waste to Energy fits into a Zero Waste system has been a hotly debated topic at many Zero Waste conferences, workshops, and planning sessions. The Zero Waste International Alliance includes in its definition “no burning or burying”. However, even the most aggressive, advanced Zero Waste system will still have some residual materials, and these materials will need to be managed. Some cities that have adopted Zero Waste plans and/or policies include waste to energy in their strategic plans. These cities recognize that Zero Waste policies and programs will achieve a high diversion rate, but they also acknowledge that a portion of the waste stream residuals will need to be disposed or processed. For these cities, waste to energy, or another alternative technology facility will fill that need, and will further reduce the use of landfill disposal.
Learn more about Sustainable Materials Management
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