The food preparation teams at Bedford High School and John Glenn Middle School have successfully adjusted to diverting food waste to a composting destination.
“We started with those kitchens so we can take a layered approach,” said Elizabeth Antanavica, Refuse and Recycling Administrator with the Department of Public Works. “The goal is all four kitchens and all student food waste by September.”
There’s not much time to experiment. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection has reduced the maximum institutional food waste permitted for trash disposal to one-half ton per week, as of Nov. 1.
This requirement is part of the agency’s 2030 Solid Waste Master Plan, with a goal of reducing solid waste for disposal by 30 percent over 12 years.
Superintendent of Schools Philip Conrad briefed the School Committee on the progress at its meeting last week. Ken Whittier, director of the school lunch program, echoed that report this week. “It has been rather seamless,” he said. “It has been quite easy to kick this off and maintain it.”
“The catalyst for all this is the fact that capacity in our state for trash disposal is super-limited,” said Antanavica. “Incinerators are either near or at capacity. The state is incredibly motivated to reduce the amount of trash.”
The schools have been working for more than three weeks with Black Earth Compost, the Gloucester-based firm that collects food scraps from residential, commercial, and governmental clients. “They take anything that once was living and compost it at their facility in Groton,” Antanavica said.
That includes “all of the food scraps generated when they make the lunches.” Instead of throwing them in the trash, they are diverted to green bins that are emptied by the contractor twice a week. Whittier said pickups are Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Antanavica said she worked with Whittier and the town Facilities Department to implement food waste diversion. “This was really a joint effort,” she said.
Initially, diversion adds to the cost of refuse disposal, Antanavica acknowledged. That’s because the town pays a flat fee to Black Earth, while the cost of solid waste disposal is calculated on actual volume. Once all four schools are involved, she said, any differential should even out because the fee won’t change.
“I think it’s great for the town to save money and compost,” Whittier said.
“The younger the kids are, the less they eat,” Antanavica observed. “One bite of an apple and they throw the rest away. And there’s a lot of waste inherent in the lunch period because it’s so short.”
Townwide curbside compost collection is “something we would like to work toward,” but can’t be accommodated in a level-services budget, she said, noting that the municipal trash collection program covers about 4,600 households.
It was noted at last week’s meeting of the Energy and Sustainability Committee that 626 households have contracted privately for compost collection from Black Earth.
Antanavica said a few households are composting on their property, and the DPW still sells backyard composting bins. There will soon be a survey of residents to determine how many are composting in any format, she added.
“For every new residential subscription, Black Earth will issue the town a $5 credit toward their food waste expenses,” she noted. “They can subscribe at www.blackearthcompost.com.”
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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It is is great that the town is finally doing this in the schools, It is better yet that it has been seamless and successful. One correction. Only 326 (not 626-we wish) households are participating in curbside composting with Black Earth. There may a be a few households using another company. But we also know that many families are able to successfully do backyard composting. We are definitely on our way to reducing food waste in town.