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

Waste Stream

Brenda PlattDirector, 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

Zero waste path = huge climate benefits

Rotting matter into black gold

Compost enhances soil

Increases beneficial living microorganisms, worms, insects in soils

Creates a rich nutrient-filled material, humus

Improves soil tilth, aeration, and water-holding 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

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

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, www.denbow.com

Filtrexx, www.filtrexx.com Credit: City of Portland, Oregon Bureau of Environmental Services

COMPOST HOLDS MANY

TIMES ITS WEIGHT IN WATER

Portland Green Streets

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

Street Planters, curb extensions, simple green strips

Source: David Elkin, landscape architect, GreenWorks, PC, Portland, OR. www.sustainablecitynetwork.com

Montgomery County, MDRainScapes Rewards Rebate Program

BMP for rain gardens: amending soil with compost

Conservation landscapes: required to have 3-inch layer of compost (incorporated to create a6-12 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 & RockvilleOver 100 Certified RainScapes Professionals

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 six-inch (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).

www.ilsr.org/paydirt

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

Composting = Local Jobs

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

On a per-ton basis, composting sustains 2 x more jobs than landfills and 4 x more than MD’s three trash incinerators

Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres

Job Creation: Composting vs. DisposalType of Operation Jobs/ Jobs/$10 million

10,000 TPY capital investment

Composting Facilities 4.1 21.4

Compost Use 6.2 n/a

Total Composting 10.3

Disposal Facilities:

Landfilling 2.2 8.4

Burning (with energy recovery) 1.2 1.6

$ 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 2013. www.ilsr.org/paydirt. Based on MD-specific composting and disposal facilities. Photo courtesy of MCS, Inc

On a per-ton basis, composting production and use sustain almost 5 times more jobs than landfilling and 9 times more than burning

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 2013. www.ilsr.org/paydirt.

MCS Inc. worker installing growing media made from compost on green roof. www.mcsnjinc.com

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How well are we doing?

Yard trim and food waste disposed and recovered, 1998-2012

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Composting Facilities by Type

Yard Trimmings

70%

Food Scraps 7%

Mixed Organics 2%

Biosolids 5%

On-Site Institution 7%

On-Site Farm/Ag 8%

Other 1%

4,914 total compost sites reported.Source: State of Composting in US, ILSR, 2014.

Programs to support composting: state-by-state summary

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Seattle: composting collection everywhere

Seattle: Compostable Food Service Ware

Biodegradable Products Institute

4,284 certified compostable foodservice products

San Francisco: Goals,

Zero Waste Policy, & Changing the Rules

California AB 939 50% 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

Eugene: Love Waste, Not Food

Letter to Businesses (2011 vs. 2014)

Composting, lots of ways

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.

Hierarchy of Food Scrap Recovery

Adapted from Richard Anthony Associates and Gary Liss Associates, Zero Waste Action Plan for the City of Glendale, California, December 2010.

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

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.”

Community Gardens

Collection Entrepreneurs

Earth Tub in-vessel compost system at Philly Compost (Philadelphia)

Building a windrow by hand at Red Hook Community Farm (Brooklyn, NY)

Urban Farms

Red Hook Community Farm Growing Power ECO City Farms

Why not MD compost?

Maine produced compost sold at Maryland retail outlets

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

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.

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

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HB878 & SB814 (passed)

State Highway Administration – Compost and Compost–Based Products – Specificationhttp://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2014RS/bills/hb/hb0878f.pdf

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.

MD HB1081 (2014 Legislative Session)

Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Facilities – Yard Waste and Food Residualshttp://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2014RS/bills/hb/hb1081f.pdf

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.

HB1081 cont.

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

Contact

Brenda PlattInstitute for Local Self-Reliancebplatt@ilsr.orgwww.ilsr.org/paydirt

For model policies, please visit:http://www.ilsr.org/initiatives/composting/and click on “Rules”