State of Composting in the US The Road to Zero Waste: Removing Organics from the Waste Stream

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1 State of Composting in the US The Road to Zero Waste: Removing Organics from the Waste Stream Brenda Platt Director, Composting Makes $en$e Project Institute for Local Self-Reliance Maryland Recycling Network Annual Conference The Road to Zero Waste What Lies Ahead Maritime Institute, Linthicum, MD, June 20, 2014

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3 Zero waste path = huge climate benefits

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5 Rotting matter into black gold

6 Compost enhances soil Increases beneficial living microorganisms, worms, insects in soils Creates a rich nutrient-filled material, humus Improves soil tilth, aeration, and waterholding capacity Reduces or eliminates the need for chemical fertilizers Suppresses soil-borne plant diseases and pests Promotes higher yields of agricultural crops Helps regenerate poor soils Has the ability to cleanup (remediate) contaminated soil

7 Source: Manage for Soil Carbon web page, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA

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9 Watershed Benefits of Compost Use Non-point source pollution prevention Erosion & sedimentation control Improved water retention Reduced chemical needs Improved soil quality & structure Reduced costs Job creation Denbow, COMPOST HOLDS MANY TIMES ITS WEIGHT IN WATER Filtrexx, Credit: City of Portland, Oregon Bureau of Environmental Services

10 Portland Green Streets Street Planters, curb extensions, simple green strips Cost-effective peak flow reduction of 80+% Filtration of pollutants Groundwater recharge Soil rehabilitation Improved pedestrian safety Neighborhood beautification Volume detention to handle most rain events Provide more space to plant trees Increase home values Alleviate urban heat island effect Source: David Elkin, landscape architect, GreenWorks, PC, Portland, OR.

11 Montgomery County, MD RainScapes Rewards Rebate Program BMP for rain gardens: amending soil with compost Conservation landscapes: required to have 3-inch layer of compost (incorporated to create a 6-12 inch improved soil layer) Property owners offered rebate for low-impact development installations $2,500 max for residential $10,000 max for commercial, multi-family, or institutional Replicated in Gaithersburg & Rockville Over 100 Certified RainScapes Professionals

12 Requirements for Minimum Organic Matter Leander (TX): All new landscapes (nonresidential and residential) are required to have a minimum of six inches (6 ) of soil depth in areas planted with turfgrass. This sixinch (6 ) minimum soil depth will consist of 75% soil blended with 25% compost. Greeley (CO): anyone installing a new lawn must use 4 cubic yards of compost per 1,000 square feet of area, incorporated at a depth of 6 inches. King Co. (WA): Clearing/grading regs: Replaced topsoil must have an organic matter content of 5% dry weight for turf applications and 10% for planting beds. Seattle: New construction sites: 20-25% compost by volume in a topsoil mix for turf (5% organic matter) and 35-40% compost by volume in a topsoil mix in planting beds (10% organic matter).

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14 Organics Diversion: Core Climate & Soil Protection Strategy Prevents landfill methane emissions Stores carbon Improves soils ability to store carbon Substitutes for energy-intensive fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides Improves plant growth, and thus carbon sequestratio Reduces energy use for irrigation Credit: Marin Carbon Project

15 Composting = Local Jobs Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres On a per-ton basis, composting sustains 2 x more jobs than landfills and 4 x more than MD s three trash incinerators Organics do not ship well Composting is small-scale Jobs are local Compost products are used locally Dollars circulate within local economies Local = good for local economies Composting linked to urban food production Composting diversifies farm products and saves money

16 Job Creation: Composting vs. Disposal Type of Operation Jobs/ Jobs/$10 million 10,000 TPY capital investment Composting Facilities Compost Use 6.2 n/a Total Composting 10.3 Disposal Facilities: Landfilling Burning (with energy recovery) On a per-ton basis, composting production and use sustain almost 5 times more jobs than landfilling and 9 times more than burning $ converted to constant 2010$ TPY = tons per year (for composting, tons represent original material, not the amount of compost produced) Source: Brenda Platt, et. al, Pay Dirt: Composting in Maryland to Reduce Waste, Create Jobs & Protect the Bay, ILSR, May Based on MD-specific composting and disposal facilities. Photo courtesy of MCS, Inc

17 Potential New Jobs by Composting 1 Million Tons of Organics Disposed Option FTE Jobs Burning 120 Landfilling 220 Composting 740 Compost Use 620 Total Composting 1,360 FTE = full-time equivalent Source: Brenda Platt, et al., Pay Dirt: Composting in Maryland to Reduce Waste, Create Jobs & Protect the Bay, ILSR, May MCS Inc. worker installing growing media made from compost on green roof.

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19 How well are we doing?

20 Yard trim and food waste disposed and recovered, thousands of tons/year 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 yard trimmings recovered food scraps recovered yard trimmings disposed food scraps disposed -

21 Source: State of Composting in US, ILSR, Research by BioCycle.

22 Composting Facilities by Type On-Site Institution 7% On-Site Farm/Ag 8% Other 1% Biosolids 5% Mixed Organics 2% Food Scraps 7% Yard Trimmings 70% 4,914 total compost sites reported. Source: State of Composting in US, ILSR, 2014.

23 Source: State of Composting in US, ILSR, Research by BioCycle. Programs to support composting: state-by-state summary

24 Seattle: composting collection everywhere

25 Seattle: Compostable Food Service Ware

26 Biodegradable Products Institute 4,284 certified compostable foodservice products

27 San Francisco: Goals, Zero Waste Policy, & Changing the Rules California AB % mandate 75% Landfill Diversion by 2010 Zero Waste by 2020 Bans polystyrene take-out containers Requires retail bags to be compostable plastic, recyclable paper, or reusable Bans use of city funds to purchase single-serving bottled water Will not give a street closure permit for events unless composting collection is in place Extended producer responsibility (EPR) resolution

28 Eugene: Love Waste, Not Food

29 Letter to Businesses (2011 vs. 2014)

30 Composting, lots of ways

31 A Diverse and Local Composting Infrastructure Is Needed Composting can take place effectively in a wide range of scale and sizes. Communities embracing a decentralized and diverse organics recovery infrastructure will be more resilient and better reap the economic and environmental benefits that organics recovery has to offer.

32 Hierarchy of Food Scrap Recovery Source reduction Edible food rescue Food to animal feed Residential backyard composting (via subsidized distribution of compost units and intensive training for residents) On-site, small-scale, decentralized composting systems for gardens, institutions and businesses Centralized composting (or anaerobic digestion) of food residuals through curbside collection programs Adapted from Richard Anthony Associates and Gary Liss Associates, Zero Waste Action Plan for the City of Glendale, California, December 2010.

33 Austin zero waste plan decentralized composting processes can reduce the carbon footprint of collection and transportation while consuming organics in more localized situations that do not require large organized collection programs.

34 Community Gardens

35 Collection Entrepreneurs

36 Earth Tub in-vessel compost system at Philly Compost (Philadelphia) Building a windrow by hand at Red Hook Community Farm (Brooklyn, NY)

37 Urban Farms Red Hook Community Farm Growing Power ECO City Farms

38 Maine produced compost sold at Maryland retail outlets Why not MD compost?

39 Challenges to Expanding Composting Lack of policies prioritizing composting and a diversified infrastructure Perception that starting composting is too costly Lack of collection infrastructure Lack of composting capacity Siting difficulties Lack of regs/permitting to facilitate responsible compost operations Poorly operated compost facilities that ultimately give a bad name to composting Contaminants (e.g., persistent herbicides) Zoning regulations Competition with cheap disposal Free unlimited set-out of residential trash Landfill and incinerator industry vested interests Lack of training programs for onsite composting Lack of leadership and political will

40 Needs to Expand Composting Collection infrastructure Composting capacity Support for infrastructure and policies: Organics disposal bans Organics diversion requirements (VT, MA, CT) Compost procurement Persistent pesticide restrictions Polystyrene restrictions Requirements for reusable, compostable, and recyclable foodservice ware Min. organic matter standards for disturbed soil Reduce contamination by encouraging use of compostable products, products that meet ASTM standards.

41 MD Statewide compost study group: recommendations (select) Update and streamline regulations/permitting Adopt performance-based permitting regs Promote on-farm composting Build and maintain comprehensive web site Share best practices Characterize how much organics generated Build markets for compost Promote compost and compost-related products as best management practices for controlling stormwater run-off and erosion Target large generators by providing resources and technical assistance Share sample zoning ordinance language 41

42 HB878 & SB814 (passed) State Highway Administration Compost and Compost Based Products Specification To promote the use of compost as a landscaping and as a recycled material in highway construction projects in the state, the use of compost and compost-based products in highway construction projects in the state shall be a best management practice for: (1) erosion and sediment control; and (2) postconstruction stormwater management.

43 MD HB1081 (2014 Legislative Session) Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Facilities Yard Waste and Food Residuals It expands the state s existing disposal ban on source-separated yard waste by requiring all yard waste to be source-separated for recycling if a composting or anaerobic digestion facility exists within 30 miles. It requires large-scale food waste generators (two tons per week or more) to source-separate food residuals if a composting or an anaerobic digestion facility exists within 30 miles. It requires the State to establish regulations for anaerobic digestion facilities.

44 HB1081 cont. The bill aims to incentivize establishment of organics recycling facilities in Maryland by guaranteeing materials will be available

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46 Contact Brenda Platt Institute for Local Self-Reliance For model policies, please visit: and click on Rules