How much trash do we throw away? How does recycling work? What, even, is compost? TRASHED is a three-part series that looks at the state of waste in the D.C. region and the options local experts are exploring to cut down on the amount of trash that鈥檚 piling up.
When you think about the trash that sits in a landfill, what comes to mind? Broken furniture? Empty chip bags? Plastic for days?
You鈥檒l find those things. But you鈥檒l also find a whole lot of food.
More food ends up in landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash, . The latest data available, from 2015, show nearly 40 million tons of food was thrown away that year 鈥� up from about 13 million tons in 1960.
And food in landfills is far from harmless: Water from spoiled leftovers mixes with chemicals from other trash and creates a chemical “soup” called 聽which has to be captured and treated separately. Plus, as food breaks down, it creates methane聽鈥� 鈥淎nd methane is at least 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas,鈥� said Cathy Plume, vice chair of the D.C. chapter of the Sierra Club.
The landfills are the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States. 鈥淪o by keeping that food waste out of the landfill, you鈥檙e creating a cleaner environment,鈥� Plume said.
Reducing food waste is a top-of-mind topic across a number of industries in the U.S., where 30% to 40% of all food is wasted. Restaurants are designing menus around previously trashed ingredients, and entrepreneurs are building businesses that rescue and resell 鈥渦gly鈥� produce. Environmental leaders are also working on the issue 鈥� especially in the D.C. area.
Making compost mainstream
The D.C. region is home to some programs that successfully encourage residents to reduce their trash by removing food from the waste stream. Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, is a prime example with its curbside composting pilot and large composting , which processes more than 50,000 tons of material each year.
Yet other jurisdictions in the area face an uphill battle when it comes to changing residents鈥� habits and getting initiatives off the ground.
Two years ago, D.C. launched a food waste drop-off program that allows residents in all eight wards to take their scraps, peels and coffee grounds to designated farmers markets, where they are turned into compost for free. (Compost is organic matter made from decomposed materials that is rich in nutrients and serves as a soil conditioner. In other words, it鈥檚 really good for the garden.) It’s one way D.C. is working toward its goal of 80% waste diversion. Currently, the District diverts 23% of its trash from the landfill.
Annie White, who heads up the Office of Waste Diversion at D.C.’s Department of Public Works, said the program has been successful thus far, and could serve as a model for an expanded curbside collection, which the city is .
鈥淚n the past year, food waste collected has grown by 400 percent,鈥� said White, who estimates about 1,500 households participate in the District鈥檚 drop-off program each weekend.
鈥淲e鈥檙e doing some outreach and education, but it鈥檚 kind of growing exponentially on its own.鈥�
Fifteen hundred households may sound like an impressive level of participation, but it鈥檚 fewer than 1% of the the nearly households in the District.
D.C. Council member Mary Cheh said that in order to take the program from a drop-off design to curbside collection, the city needs to invest in infrastructure.
鈥淲e have to have a place to put all of this composting,鈥� said Cheh, who added that D.C. currently utilizes small compost centers around the city, as well Prince George鈥檚 facility, but would benefit from having its own.
The District鈥檚 2021-2022 budget includes 聽for construction of a composting facility. 鈥淎nd we have to find a place to put it,鈥� Cheh said.
A curbside program also needs trucks, as well as cooperation from multi-unit buildings and businesses that contract with private haulers.
In 2015, Prince George鈥檚 County, Maryland, reported a waste diversion rate (the amount of trash kept from going to the landfill) of 64.59%.聽Adam Ortiz, who led the Prince George鈥檚 County Department of the Environment from 2012 to January 2019, said composting helped to make the county No. 1 for waste diversion in Maryland.聽(For comparison, Montgomery County, Maryland’s reported waste diversion rate is 62%; Arlington, Virginia’s rate is just under 50%.)
Now, Ortiz is the director of Montgomery County鈥檚 Department of Environmental Protection, and he鈥檚 hoping to make a similar impact on its efforts, where was generated in 2015.
鈥淲ith all the restaurants that we have and all the distributors and supermarkets, there鈥檚 a great opportunity to capture [food waste], so that鈥檚 a big focus of the [County Executive Marc] Elrich administration, and my work in particular,鈥� Ortiz said.
While any resident can do backyard composting, Ortiz said, government-run curbside programs encourage more composting participation, especially from those 鈥渨ho are a little uneasy or don鈥檛 need another chore to do on a Saturday afternoon.鈥�
鈥淎nd I think that鈥檚 the future,鈥� Ortiz said. 鈥淎nd in the right kind of container, it鈥檚 not any different than putting out your trash.鈥�
Across the Potomac River in Arlington, Virginia, Solid Waste Bureau Chief Erik Grabowsky said 鈥渇ood is the next big thing鈥� in the county’s plan to reduce trash. He estimates food makes up about 25% of the materials in its trash bins.
Arlington residents can drop off their food scraps at a county-run collection bin, where they are processed on site and used for landscaping projects throughout the area. The county, which already collects and composts yard waste, also sells food composting bins to residents at a below-market rate, but so far, there is no curbside collection for food scraps.
Grabowsky said the county鈥檚 contract would allow for a curbside program, where food scraps would be collected in the same bin as grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste 鈥� but Arlington isn鈥檛 there quite yet.
鈥淲hat we鈥檝e been partly waiting for is the infrastructure. There hasn鈥檛 been a facility open yet that manages organics and food waste together,鈥� Grabowsky said.
A lack of curbside composting programs in the region hasn’t stopped Washingtonians from keeping food scraps out of the landfill, however. Many use private services such as 鈥� a company started by two Bethesda, Maryland, natives in 2011 that collects food waste and other organic materials from individual houses, schools, museums and more throughout the area for a fee that ranges from $16 to $32 a month.
Ryan Walter, president of The Compost Crew, said he looks at food scraps like a commodity that can be recycled into a high-quality product and sold to landscapers and farmers. And over the last eight years, business has been good.
鈥淚 think growth and interest in this area has been really staggering,鈥� Walter said. 鈥淚 feel like [composting is] where recycling was maybe 10 or 20 years ago, it鈥檚 just going to be a third bin, it鈥檚 going to be part of our culture.鈥�
While diverting food from the waste stream will have an impact on the amount of material sent to landfills and incinerators, activists say it鈥檚 not the single answer that鈥檚 going to push the region toward 鈥渮ero waste.鈥�
鈥淕etting food waste out of the waste stream, alone, that鈥檚 not going to get us to 80 percent diversion,鈥� said Plume, who is based in D.C. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot more that has to happen.鈥�
How to reduce food waste at home
Want to cut down on the amount of food that ends up in your trash can? Here are some tips:
1. Buy less. Loading your shopping cart up with fresh fruits and vegetables is not a bad thing, but buying more than what you’ll realistically eat leads to waste. A recent found Americans throw out about a pound of food each day, so just buy what you know you need.
2. Salvage small amounts of leftovers. Only using half the can of tomato paste? Still have some stock left over that could enhance the flavor of a future soup? Fill an ice cube tray with odds and ends, pop it in the freezer and use them when you need them.
3. Get creative in the kitchen. Carrot tops and kale stems don’t have to get tossed. Incorporate them into new recipes, such as 听辞谤 .
4. Sell-by dates are trash. Nine out of 10 Americans throw away food that鈥檚 perfectly fresh because of the expiration date, according to聽聽conducted by the National Resources Defense Council and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic. Obviously, perishable foods have a shelf life, but use common sense (and your senses) before you toss that yogurt. A Maryland family recently lived on expired food for a year. The is another helpful resource.
5. Compost, even if you don’t have a yard. You don’t need land to compost your kitchen scraps. D.C. and many of the surrounding jurisdictions have drop-off centers where residents can take their compost. A neighbor might also be interested in taking your food scraps to enrich their garden.
6. Worried a bin of banana peels will stink up your house? Keep your scraps in a sealed bag in the freezer until you’re ready to drop them off.
Compost drop-off centers聽
- of food-waste drop-off centers. D.C. residents can also pick up free compost for their gardens at the .
- In Arlington County, residents can , Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Alexandria also has for compost at its farmers markets.
- Residents in Prince George’s County can take their compost to the county’s .
