Pulp Fact

“Green the Capitol” Office Director Perry Plumart explains the workings of the waste pulper.

Hidden in the recesses of the Longworth House Office Building is one of the most important components of the Green the Capitol project: a pulper that can process more than 1,250 pounds of waste an hour, turning it into grayish muck that is then delivered to a USDA compost site and also to a private user. The machine can reduce the volume of the waste put into it by up to 75 percent, says Perry Plumart, director of the Green the Capitol Office.

“The pulper reduces our carbon footprint by reducing the amount of methane generated by our waste in landfills, and it also saves money in landfill tip fees,” he notes.

A staffer separates out inorganic waste from trash bags before feeding the rest into the pulper

Consumer pre-sorted waste is delivered from the various café sites to the pulper room, where a staffer goes through it again, removing inorganic materials and feeding the organic and food waste into the pulper, which grinds it into compostable gunk.