Food Waste
Every day in restaurants, cafes, buffets, cafeterias and supermarkets, hundreds of pounds of food is discarded.
This adds up to thousands of pounds of food waste in the trash making businesses pay to take it all away.
All this collected waste ends up as millions of tons of compostable organic waste being dumped in the landfill every day. This creates problems with the production of leachate which can contaminate groundwater and methane that pollutes the air.
Organic Waste Sources
Food Waste
Is the third largest component of generated waste by weight. Because of its low composting rate, it is the largest component of discarded waste by weight.
Paper and Paperboard
PlasticsWood
Food Scraps
Metals
Glass
Yard Trimmings Rubber, Leather & Textiles
Other
Paper and PaperboardPlasticsWoodFood ScrapsMetalsGlassYard TrimmingsRubber, Leather & TextilesOther
Food Stores
ResidentialHotels
Hospitals
Restaurants
Food Stores - 13%Residential - 30%Hotels - 16%
Commercial Businesses That Generate Food Wastes
Organic Waste Sources
Food Waste Problems Waste Haulers must add additional trucks to their current
fleet to keep organic wastes separated from other solid wastes.
Waste Haulers will be required to provide additional containers to segregate the waste.
The additional trucks required to service segregated waste streams will increase fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
Production of foul odors.
Vector control problem for animals, birds and insects.
Stored waste can become a breeding ground for pathogens and bacteria.
Improperly stored waste can generate leachate that can be unsightly and can cause a cross contamination risk over a wide area.
Short term storage only (several days). Bins must be picked up several times a week or even daily.
Being mostly water, food is one of the heaviest wastes making it the costliest to transport and dispose of.
Disposal Currently there is no perfect method of dealing with food waste. Each solution generates its
own unique problems.
Transporting and disposal of food waste is one of the highest costs associated with solid wastes.
The most accepted and available method of waste diversion is composting.
While sending organic waste to a composter is an excellent means of dealing with organic waste, this method does not eliminate many of the associated problems. It basically shifts them from the food waste generator and moves them somewhere else.
Composting companies are working hard to make their process more efficient and eliminate many of the associated problems.
New technology is being developed to process food waste at the source.
By treating food waste at the source, many of the food waste handling and storage issues are reduced or eliminated.
This new technology also greatly reduces or eliminates food waste disposal transportation costs for the customer.
Using a combination of new and existing technology may allow realistic sustainability goals to be met.
Standard Disposal Costs
Average Tip / Disposal Fees by Region
2009 Per/ton 2010 2011 2012 2013 Northeast $69.0 71.8 74.3 76.9
79.6 Midwest $41.1 42.6 43.8 45.2 46.5 Southeast $41.3 42.9 44.4 46.0
47.6 Western $27.3 28.0 28.5 29.1 29.7 Pacific $46.1 48.0 49.7 51.4 53.2 US Average $42.7 44.3 45.7 47.1 48.6
Source: Waste Business Journal Waste Market Overview and Outlook pg 106
Disposal Options – CompostingPros:
Currently one of the most widely accepted and available means of processing organic waste into a stable, usable product.
Naturally occurring Aerobic and Anaerobic bacteria are used to convert organic waste into compost.
All organic waste can be thrown into a single container and hauled to a central location for processing.
Processing of waste is simple and effective.
Cons:
Commercial composting requires 90-120 days to process waste into a usable product.
Composting requires a large area to continuously receive and process organic waste.
Food waste composting can be a vector problem for animals, birds and insects.
Potential problems with groundwater contamination from leachate.
Hauling costs of food waste is one of the highest by weight of all solid wastes.
Disposal Options – Dehydration
Pros:
Dehydrators are automated and simple to use.
Food waste is dehydrated reducing its volume by 50-70%.
Unit does not require additional plumbing for water or drains.
No venting required. Air is discharged into the room.
Cons:
Processed waste remains subject to re-hydration and can produce foul odors should this happen.
Dehydrated waste remains a vector issue for vermin.
Units typically can only handle several hundred pounds per batch.
A single batch can take 24 hours to complete.
Disposal Options – LiqueficationPros:
Liquefiers are automated and simple to use.
Units can handle large volumes of waste per batch. Up to 2,400 lbs.
Food waste is liquefied to a sludge using bacteria, reducing its volume by 60-70%.
Sludge is then pumped to a nearby drain.
Initially these units were very successful.
Cons:
Wood chips or other bulking agents as well as bacteria need to be added each batch to operate.
A single batch can take 24 hours to complete.
Machines require additional plumbing for water and drainage.
Many municipalities have banned the machines due to overloading waste treatment facilities with BOD*.
B.O.D or Biochemical Oxygen Demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of water to break down organic material present in a given water sample at a certain temperature over a specific time period.*
The Biogreen 360 The BioGreen 360™ is a totally self-contained, continual feed,
organic waste disposal system than uses aerobic digestion to convert food waste into a sludge and then dries it.
A single inoculation of bacteria will continuously digest waste for a year.
Reduces organic waste to 70-90% of its original weight in 24 hours with varied types of food waste.
Waste can be continuously fed into unit.
Drying process kills seeds, bacteria and pathogens. The processed waste is classified as Biosafety Level 1 (determined safe for human and animal contact.)
Easy installation (no water supply or additional plumbing).
No solids or waste by-products sent into sewer system.
Eliminates on-sight organic waste storage, avoiding odor and pest issues.
Cost effective (Decreases hauls & disposal).
Increases waste diversion / higher recycling rates.
Reduces carbon footprint and impact on landfill capacity.
No soil or ground water contamination.
Quiet, clean, efficient.
Aerobic DigestionAerobic digestion is a biological process in which oxygen loving microorganisms are used to consume organic matter and convert it into stable solids, carbon dioxide and more organisms. Aerobic microorganisms, like all living things, require three things to live and grow. They need Food, Water and Oxygen.
Food
Water Oxygen
As these microorganisms eat and grow they produce more and more microorganisms who also eat and grow and produce even more offspring.
=
By optimizing the environment through agitation and temperature control, digestion of organic waste is greatly accelerated allowing large volumes to be processed in a short period of time. Aerobic digestion alone can reduce food waste by as much as 50-60% by volume.
BioGreen 360 Basics
Food Waste goes in
Clean Compostable material comes out!
The “BioGreen 360™” rapidly decomposes the organic waste into a wet sludge. This digested sludge is then dried into at 212-300 degrees Farenheit into a dry, crumbly, soil like substance.
Any Organic waste consisting of vegetable or fruit scraps, raw and cooked meats, fish, poultry and dairy products are fed into the machine.
Food Waste Decomposition Process
Food Waste Decomposition Process
A look inside an operating digester shows it macerating and digesting organic waste. After digestion, the organic waste is subjected to a temperature of 212-300 degrees Fahrenheit. This effectively kills all pathogens and bacteria, even seeds. The process is completed in 24 hours.
The finished product has been reduced by 70-90% and can be considered a bio-sterile mass. It is 70-90% dry and shelf stable allowing it to be stored for several months.
Digested Waste Uses – Initial Testing
Laboratory testing has found the dried digested waste to contain measurable amounts of Potassium, Phosphorous and Nitrogen with a pH of 4.13. The waste also has a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 10.9 to 1.
Potential uses for the Digested Waste are:
Compost
Animal Feed
Vermicomposting
Digested Waste UsesReduction of food waste into the landfills and dramatically reducing hauling costs was our first step in meeting new sustainability standards. But we are now looking to further close the sustainability loop and make the Biogreen 360 truly a means toward reduce, reuse and refeed.
Food Waste
Digester Hauler Landfill
DigesterFood Waste
Hauler
Composting
Animal Feed
Vermicomposting
Current Method of Digested Waste Disposal
Proposed Method of Digested Waste Disposal
Digested Waste Uses – Initial TestingInitial testing found that the dried digested waste has potential for use as a pet
food amendment. Dogs and cats readily eat the digest and consider it as a “treat”.
While visiting Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, considerable interest was shown in our waste product and impromptu testing was done by agriculture students.
Samples were given to pigs at the swine unit who readily ate the product.
Several samples were added to Vermicomposting bins. The worms consumed the first sample overnight. A second sample was added along with other organic wastes and the worms consumed our sample first before moving to the other wastes.
Additional testing is being done in conjunction with the San Diego Zoo to determine if our digester will be able to digest their parks tableware.
Digested Waste Uses – Official Study
Biogreen Organic Solutions is sponsoring a scientific study with Cal Poly Pomona to test the dried digested waste as an animal feed supplement. This testing will determine the food value of the waste product using swine. The study will take approximately 6-9 months to complete.
During the study, the pigs will be monitored by students, staff and veterinarians who will track health, growth rate and feeding habits.
If successful, the study could help to change the focus on how food waste will be handled and disposed of.
At the end of the study the pigs will be weighed, sized and inspected to determine which group gained the most weight and size and at what amount of food waste.
Biogreen 360 Customers
New Hampshire Federal Bureau of Prisons
One Financial Center Boston
Tower City Center Ohio
Thank You…
For Questions please contact:
George BennettTel: (951) 735-4418email: [email protected]
April StantonTel: (626) 277-9111email: [email protected]
Joseph CartwrightTel: (951) 254-3194email: [email protected]
MPE Services, Inc.3030 Armstrongs Dr.Corona, CA 92881Tel: (951) 735-4418
Biogreen Organic Solutions298 N. Smith Ave.Corona, CA 92880Tel: (951) 735-4418
