Compost

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Affordability

Diverting as much as half of the waste your business currently sends to landfill or incineration is not complicated. By separating compostables from trash you do not change what material gets discarded, only how it is handled once it leaves your business.

Cost savings

BCIT’s vermicomposting system is one of the most developed in Canada and was established to process organic wastes from campus cafeterias. BCIT reports that the system is part of daily operations and processes approximately 60 kg per day of coffee, fruit and vegetable cuttings. The composers reduce campus waste by about 16 tonnes per fiscal year for an annual savings of over $1700. A Metro Vancouver waste reduction case study reported that organic composting at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver has resulted in a 50% reduction in overall material weight with annual savings of $5,280.

Environmental considerations

Diverting organic wastes from landfill sites helps to conserve landfill space and to reduce the production of leachate and methane gas (both of which add to the cost of operating a landfill).

What you need to know

Based on your waste assessment you should have some idea of how much food waste your business generates.

Know what types of waste are compostable. Some common compostable items include:

• Most food waste – fruit, vegetables, breads, pasta, eggs shells, coffee grounds
• Food-soiled paper – waxed cardboard, napkins, paper towels, paper plates, paper milk cartons, tea bags, coffee filters
• Wood waste – wooden utensils, stir-stix, wooden crates, sawdust
• Yard waste

There are several options for diverting food waste:

Compost collection service – Currently there are only a handful of compost collection services available to businesses throughout British Columbia. Contact your local recycler for suggestions. See the Resources Guide of this section for a list of business composting services.

Food donation opportunities – There are several organizations, such as Quest Food Exchange which picks up non-marketable food from every sector of the food industry and redistributes it to those in need, benefiting individuals, communities and the environment. In its 2006/2007 fiscal year, Quest collected $8.26 million worth of food from 343 food suppliers. Through its Zero Waste Project, Quest aims to reduce all food waste to zero while helping to educate the public about the benefits of a zero-waste, closed-loop waste management system.

On-site composting

In-vessel composting

• Many companies and organizations have found on-site food waste composting to be an effective means of reducing the amount of materials they are paying to have hauled off as garbage while, at the same time, creating a valuable resource in the form of finished compost. Most on-site composting systems are "in-vessel" meaning they are in a container and they are usually fully contained and vermin resistant. They range in processing capacities based on the amount of organic materials being diverted. The cost for these systems covers a similarly large range.
• An expected pay-back period on a new in-vessel composting system is around seven years, making it a good long term financial investment with excellent short term PR benefits. There is the added benefit of becoming an on-site source of compost to nourish any landscape soil and plants. Schools also find that in-vessel composting systems become excellent teaching tools.

Vermicomposting or worm composting - Worm composting means using worms to recycle food scraps and other organic material into a valuable soil additive called vermicompost or worm compost. Worms eat food scraps, which become compost as they pass through the worm's body. This compost can then be used to grow plants.

• Starting your own worm compost can be achieved in a few simple steps. Watch this YouTube video about the basics of setting up a worm compost.

Bokashi - Bokashi is a Japanese term that means “fermented organic matter”. With this inexpensive and easy to use system, organic waste is fermented rather than decomposed. The composting of organic waste is done in an air tight container using Bokashi as a compost starter.

Taking it further

Become a leader in your industry and encourage others to compost their food waste and reduce their waste management costs.

FAQ

Why do greenhouse gases come out of a landfill?
Landfills are one of the largest sources of anthropogenic (human-induced) methane emissions. Landfill methane is produced when organic materials (such as yard waste, household waste, food waste and paper) are decomposed by bacteria under anaerobic conditions (the absence of oxygen).

Methane production varies greatly from landfill to landfill depending on site-specific characteristics such as waste that is left in place, waste composition, moisture content, landfill design and operating practices and climate. Unless captured first by a gas recovery system, methane generated by the landfill is emitted when it migrates through the landfill cover. During this process, the soil oxidizes approximately 10% of the methane generated and the remaining 90% is emitted. Reducing the amount of material going to landfill through recycling and composting helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.