OHIO FOOD SCRAPS RECOVERY INITIATIVE
Did you know that each year a typical household throws away an estimated 474 pounds of food waste? In Ohio, that’s enough food scraps to pile on a football field as high as the Willis Tower (ex-Sears Tower) (more than 1,450 feet)! Food scraps generated by all households in the United States could be piled on a football field more than five miles (26,400 feet) high!
Up to 90 percent of waste thrown out by supermarkets and restaurants is food scraps. In fact, food scraps are the third largest segment of the waste stream with nearly 26 million tons generated each year. Unfortunately, it is also the least recovered. If the 26 million tons of food scraps generated annually were composted rather than landfilled, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by more than 21.5 million metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent. This savings is equivalent to the removal of more than 4 million cars from the roadways each year, conserving more than 2 billion gallons of gasoline, or providing annual electricity needs to more than 2.5 million homes!
Whenever possible, the generation of food scraps should be minimized through source reduction and donations to local food banks (U.S. EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy). Still, even the most efficient purchasing programs by businesses and consumers will inevitably result in the generation of food scraps.
Ohio EPA encourages communities and businesses to divert food scraps from landfills by utilizing composting, anaerobic digestion, and other alternatives. Not only does the environment benefit from keeping food scraps out of landfills, but communities and businesses can save money by reducing their disposal costs. Through the composting process, food scraps are transformed into a rich organic soil builder that can be used in gardens and landscapes to provide many benefits to the soil. In addition to producing compost, using microbes that produce methane gas during the anaerobic digestion process generate renewable energy. As a result, a material that may have been taken to the landfill will instead add value to the land and offer solutions to energy needs.
MAPPING SOURCES AND SOLUTIONS FOR FOOD SCRAPS
Ohio EPA, in collaboration with ODNR and U.S. EPA Region 5, has been working with stakeholders to develop and implement food scraps recovery projects. In many cases, communities and businesses have launched food scraps recovery programs on their own. Since 2009, City of Huron (Erie County), Village of Luckey (Wood County), Fairborn (Greene County), West Milton (Miami County), and Miami Township (Montgomery County) residents have been offered food scraps collection along with their yard waste collection . The Kroger Company has diverted more the 3,500 tons from Ohio landfills and this material has been converted into a nutrient-rich resource. Cleveland venues including Browns Stadium, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Progressive Field, and Quicken Loans Arena began collecting and sending food scraps to area composting facilities. Colleges, universities, and other organizations continue to compost on site, when available as an option. Oftentimes, interested communities and businesses are unaware of opportunities and resources available to begin recovering food scraps.
Ohio EPA and U.S. EPA Region 5 have developed a map to offer a visual display of opportunities to the many communities, businesses, and other organizations that are interested in recovery food scraps. Since the launch of Ohio’s Food Scraps Recovery Initiative in 2007, the infrastructure of composting and anaerobic digestion facilities has developed considerably and offers most regions of the state an alternative solution to landfills. The map includes the location of all licensed composting facilities authorized to accept food scraps and rings to display varying distances that may affect the economic feasibility of a program. Supermarket locations for various grocers illustrate the opportunities that exist in just this industry alone. The map also includes supermarkets currently participating in food scraps recovery programs.
This map is intended to assist communities and businesses in identifying opportunities to recover food scraps by displaying local solutions and existing programs. Communities and businesses that are participating in food scraps recovery programs and want to be included in this map are encouraged to forward their information to angel.arroyo@epa.ohio.gov. For more information about food scraps recovery, please contact the Division of Solid and Infectious Waste Management at 614.644.2621.
Check out the following features:
- Food Scraps Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Facilities
- Distances from your location
- Driving directions from your location
- Existing Food Scraps Recovery Programs
- Local Food Banks
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Right click HERE or on the image to download the ".kml" file (right click and save the link) and view the Map in Google Earth.
If you don't have Google Earth installed on your computer, you can get the free download here.
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