Organics

TIM102_3According to the EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) organic waste makes up the third largest category (14%) of the trash in landfills where it decomposes to produce methane gas – the leading contributor to global climate change.

As part of their waste management plans, many cities across Canada and the Unites States are enforcing the collection of organic waste in their goal to divert more waste from landfill. Metro Vancouver introduced mandatory organics collection for all residential, non-profit and business buildings in January 2015. Significant fines may be incurred if organic waste is detected in their landfill trash.

Benefits of collecting organic waste

  • Organic waste is a valuable resource that can be composted to produce soil fertilizers to enhance soil quality and reduce soil erosion.
  • The collection of organic waste considerably increases an organization’s diversion rate and can help you to reach zero waste.. For example, collecting paper towels in your washroom can dramatically increase the amount of waste you divert from landfill.

What you should be collecting:

  • Food scraps
  • Paper towels and napkins
  • Coffee grinds & tea bags
  • Cardboard sleeves from hot beverage cups
  • Compostable plates and cutlery

Benefits of Compostable Foodservice Ware

Foodservice Pkg

  • Compostable cutlery takes about 6 months to fully breakdown.
  • Using compostable plates and cutlery in cafeterias and meeting rooms makes it easy for people to dispose of their waste correctly because it removes the need to sort. They can simply toss the plate and food scraps into the one organics collection bin.
  • Compostable foodservice ware is helping the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport reach their diversion rate goal of 50% by 2015.
  • Compostable cutlery, plates and take-out boxes made from plant fibres or compostable plastic are now more readily available and competitively priced than ever before.

As municipalities start to see the benefits of composting a large proportion of their waste, we will start to see organics collection programs spreading across the towns and cities in North America. Curb side organics collection will start to become a standard alongside Blue Box recycling programs.

If you’d like any information or assistance in setting up organics collection in your facility, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-628-5756 or email solutions@cleanriver.com.