Getting Food Scraps and Serviceware to Work Together

“Using compostable food service ware products absolutely changes in-house cultures regarding disposal and composting, and expands composting beyond the kitchen and dining room.” – Carla Castagnero, President, AgRecycle

As many of you know, we believe wholeheartedly in the notion that when compostable products get used in a foodservice environment, the chances that (at some point) a composting system will be put in place to capture the entire organics stream go way up. That doesn’t mean it will be easy, since many areas still struggle with a lack of access to commercial compost facilities of any kind, let alone facilities that accept compostable packaging and post-consumer food scraps.

The hesitancy of some composters to accept compostable packaging with food scraps is addressed in this recent article by Nora Goldstein of BioCycle. After chronicling an unfortunate but all too common scenario in Boston where a foodservice operator found himself in a spot where he no longer had a place to send his organics stream, the article focuses on the success that AgRecycle has had collecting both post-consumer food scraps and compostable packaging at their facility outside of Pittsburgh.

The moral of the story, at least in AgRecycle’s experience, is that accepting compostable packaging is not only operationally possible for composters, it also has the potential to dramatically increase the amount of food scraps coming in to its operation.

There is so much to be said about the example in Boston, and this topic on the whole. Stay tuned for further posts on this, particularly as we get ready to launch a whole new section of our website dedicated exclusively to the challenges and engagement opportunities associated with waste diversion in America.