Modesto Restaurants Join Food Waste Composting Movement
The city of Modesto will soon be working with local restaurants to collect and compost food scraps and then sell the fertilizer to local landscapers, farmers and the general public.
With the help of a $50,000 EPA Resource Conservation Challenge grant, the city plans to start the pilot program this summer with about 30 of the city’s estimated 1,000 restaurants to recycle waste that would have otherwise been thrown away.
“Modesto’s recycling programs just got a little greener,” said Jeff Scott, director of waste programs for the EPA Pacific Southwest Region. “Thanks to a partnership between the city and local restaurants, a valuable resource will be recycled to enhance our environment instead of being thrown away. Composting food waste will produce valuable soil amendments rich in nutrients.’
Modesto officials estimate that its restaurants produce roughly 15,000 tons of food waste annually. As of 2004 the city of Modesto was recycling or composting 51 percent of their waste. City officials expect the pilot project to reuse 1,000 tons of waste per year.
Under the pilot program, the city’s contracted haulers will transport food waste from participating restaurants to the city’s composting facility on Jennings Road. Once there, workers will sort the waste in piles and aerate the materials regularly for proper decomposition before reselling as fertilizer.
Modesto City Councilmember Kristin Olsen said, “The City of Modesto’s partnership with the restaurant industry, garbage haulers and the EPA is yet another example of the business community’s commitment to improving the quality of life in Modesto. These are the kind of partnerships we need in Modesto–the public and private sectors working together to make a better community.”
The California Restaurant Association agreed to help get restaurants involved after being approached by the city in March. “Collaborations such as this are beneficial to everyone involved,” said Jot Condie, president and CEO of the California Restaurant Association. “Restaurants are often the first to jump at the chance to help out the community, or in this case, the environment.”
Modesto Solid Waste Manager Jocelyn Reed said, “The diversion of organic materials like food waste is essential for the city to meet state waste reduction mandates. Were thrilled to have the EPA and Restaurant Association working with us on this important project.”
The city hopes to get all restaurants involved and then expand to other places that produce a lot of food waste, such as hospitals, schools and other institutions.
Organic materials, such as food waste and yard debris, make up about 30 percent of the 40 million tons of municipal solid waste generated in California each year.
About 1,700 San Francisco restaurants began composting in 2004. Their waste is composted in giant bags outside Vacaville, spread as fertilizer on farms in the Sacramento and Napa valleys and returned to the Bay Area as wine or vegetables.
Modesto restaurant owners interested in being part of the commercial food waste collection pilot or in learning more, can contact Karin Rodriguez of the City of Modesto at (209) 577-5453.
Provided by the Environmental News Service.