Resources
California and other states now mandate landfill diversion.
Are your operations in compliance?
California’s 75% Diversion Mandate
Each year, 23 million tons of organic waste will need to be recycled, reduced or composted statewide. CalRecyle’s mandate is being implemented through municipalities, which in turn are regulating hauling companies and commercial food processors to meet this ambitious goal.
The AD Permitting Challenge
Anaerobic digestion is another alternative to landfill disposal of organic waste. However, odor concerns and siting issues have caused permitting delays and denials for a number AD projects. The high capital cost and decline in value of renewable energy credits (RINs) also pose significant challenges.
Additional Resources
New CalRecycle SB1383 Web Pages Published
CalRecycle has published new SB 1383 webpages which include a new homepage, documents included in the final rulemaking package as such the final and approved regulatory text, webpages dedicated to collection, procurement, food recovery, and ?resources for jurisdictions, food donors, and food recovery organizations and services. The webpages will be updated as new resources are made available.
Efforts on all levels needed to reduce $161B in US food waste
Source: Amanda Little, Bloomberg News
Even before COVID-19, Americans, on average, were tossing away more than a pound of uneaten food per person each day, amounting to some 400 pounds of food thrown out annually. That’s far more than any other wealthy country — about 50% more food waste per capita than France and nearly double that of the U.K. According to U.S. government estimates, the cost of U.S. food waste comes out to $161 billion annually. The environmental costs are abysmal.
Organics 101: A Stakeholder’s Guide to Organic Waste Material and Potential Strategies for Processing
Source: Dane Campbell and Evan Williams, Waste Advantage Magazine
The subject of recycling, processing and handling organic waste has been a leading-edge subject inside the waste industry for many years. Roughly 35 percent of the weight being hauled and dumped in landfills is an organic fraction. There is a focus to reduce the amount of organic waste from landfills, mostly due to methane pollution. Many companies in the U.S. want to help this situation and have many different ideas, but without much experience, it can be difficult to select the right solutions.
CalRecycle Must Rework Language of SB 1383 Rulemaking Package
Source: Arlene Karidis, Waste360.com
The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has disapproved a rulemaking package of the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) that contains proposed regulations for implementation of SB-1383, a law set to take effect in January 2022 that mandates diversion of organic waste from landfills to reduce methane gas generation.