Kessler Consulting

May 2012
Volume 14/Issue 42
Client Updates
New Assignments
KCI Out and About
News Briefs
Green Building and Recycling –
Making the Connection
Kessler Consulting, Inc.
innovative waste solutions
14620 N. Nebraska Ave.
Building D
Tampa, FL 33613
Telephone (813) 971-8333
Fax (813) 971-8582
www.kesconsult.com
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any portion of this newsletter
in whole or in part.
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Growing a Food Waste Diversion Program:
Trends in Food Waste Composting
Communities all over Florida (FL) and
the Southeast (SE) are exploring program
options that will enable them to reach
higher recycling goals. Organics recovery,
including food waste collection and
composting, is high on many local governments’
planning list. For
example, Kessler Consulting,
Inc (KCI) recently
completed a Food
Waste Diversion Study
(Study) for Mecklenburg
County, NC. The information
obtained from
this study will be used
by Mecklenburg to evaluate
the feasibility of a
future food waste recovery
pilot program and subsequent countywide
recovery program aimed to help meet
its goal of 35% waste reduction by 2018.
Such goals are driving a second look at
food waste.
Another reason communities are exploring
adding food waste diversion to their solid
waste management program lies in the
percent of the total waste stream that is organics.
Once the capture of “low hanging
fruit” such as newspaper, plastic, and aluminum,
etc. is maximized, decision makers
must look for new opportunities for greater
diversion in meeting higher recovery goals.
Based on extensive experience performing
waste composition studies in the SE,
we know that food waste comprises a significant
portion of a community’s waste
stream. Three recent studies bear this
out: in Polk County, FL we found that food
waste comprises 13 percent of waste; in
Manatee County, FL food waste is 14 percent
of all MSW; and in Charleston County,
SC food waste makes up 19 percent of all
county waste and as much as 27 percent of
the waste in the downtown business area.
As trends such as diminishing newspaper
readership and reduced packaging
continue, the proportion of food waste
in the waste stream
should continue to rise.
Therefore, food waste
recovery will be an increasingly
critical focus
for communities trying
to achieve higher recycling
goals. Charleston
County, SC operates the
first compost facility in
SC that is permitted to
accept food waste. The
County is focusing on food waste recovery
as part of its effort to achieve a 40 percent
recycling goal. Already the compost operation,
including the food waste program,
has contributed to a threefold increase in
the recycling rate.
As part of its trend toward expanded
sustainability programs, corporate America
also is a major driving force in the growth
of food waste collection and processing.
Large businesses such as WalMart and
Publix are demanding food waste collection
services, and haulers are responding
to the new business opportunity. For example,
Walmart and Publix are collecting
organic waste that includes produce, bakery,
and floral materials to be composted.
Additional facilities, both private and
public, are in the planning stages across
the SE. For example, the change to
Florida’s composting facility regulations
in 2010 allowed commercial composting
facilities that process source separated
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