Businesses, institutions can recycle food waste

Thurston County solid waste officials are reaching out to businesses and institutions with a new recycling program that takes a bite out of food waste.

Working with solid waste hauler LeMay Inc., the county wants restaurants, grocery stores, schools, nursing homes and others to know they can recycle food waste and food-soiled paper products, rather than dumping them in the garbage.

"It's the latest and greatest new recycling program in South Sound," said Emmett Brown, commercial recycling coordinator for LeMay, which provides solid waste disposal service for most of Thurston County, other than Olympia and Rainier.

Initially, food-waste recycling was to begin as a pilot project in the Lacey area, noted Terri Thomas of Thurston County Solid Waste. However, demand is growing.

"LeMay is allowing us to offer it in a larger area," she said. "We're signing on new businesses every day — trying to keep up with the calls."

One of the food-waste recycling pioneers is South Puget Sound Community College.

"We're really excited to be able to do something like this," said Nancy Johnson, the college's custodial services manager. "Roughly 30 percent to 40 percent of our garbage is food waste."

Food waste recycling bins have been placed around the college campus, focusing first on the kitchen and cafeteria operations that are part of the school's culinary arts program.

Now the bins also are being placed in the college president's kitchen area, school coffee shop and other areas.

"Initially, we were just going to do food services," Johnson said. "But the recycling program is taking on a life of its own."

Food scraps collected at the SPSCC campus and other businesses and institutions is mixed with residential yard waste and transported to Silver Springs Organics, a state-licensed, commercial composting plant near Rainier that opened this year.

The operation at 13835 Military Road S.E. accepts for a fee such items as food waste, food-soiled paper, farm waste, yard waste and wood waste.

"Their opening made the food -waste recycling possible," Thomas said of the business.

Food scraps probably will account for about 10 percent of the organic waste delivered to Silver Springs in the first couple years, about 6,000 tons annually, company manager Greg Schoenbachler said.

As more cities, counties and commercial haulers develop food waste programs, the volume could climb up to 30 percent, second only to yard waste, Schoenbachler predicted.

Thomas said recycling food scraps and food-soiled paper products — everything from pizza boxes to napkins — offers several benefits, including:

• It can save a customer money because it can reduce the amount of garbage that needs to go to the county's solid waste transfer station at Hawks Prairie.

• It's good for the environment. When composted, food scraps are converted to nutrient-rich compost that can be used to grow more fruits and vegetables.