How operators are adjusting to composting legislation

When the USDA and EPA in September issued the first-ever national challenge to reduce America’s more than 133 billion pounds of annual food waste 50 percent by 2030, much of the country already had a head start. Composting laws have been rolling out nationwide, but even for proactive operators with their own green practices, such new rules can force a change. Here are three different steps operators have taken to cope.

Challenge: composting rule trumps existing waste-reduction Method

Solution: Swap in Compliant equipment

Kitchen staff at Yale-New Haven Hospital long had relied on a pulper to help grind up food scraps for disposal in the waste line. However, Connecticut’s composting ordinance made that disposal method illegal. Partnering with a composter would have been too burdensome for the New Haven, Conn.-based hospital’s small loading dock, so instead, the facility installed a digester, which converts food scraps into a liquid that can be sent down the waste line. The cost was  between $40,000 and $50,000, and the new equipment complies with the law and handles 800 pounds of food waste per day, says Dorothy DeCaprio, director of food and nutrition services.

Challenge: Sourcing recyclable versus compostable products

Solution: Tap peers for affordable alternatives

Seattle Children’s Hospital was using compostable drinking cups well ahead of the city’s ordinance. But Gina Sadowski, manager of production and operations, says the hospital found itself running afoul of the law because many of its patrons—not realizing the cups were compostable—would dispose of them incorrectly. To comply, the hospital switched to a more clearly labeled recyclable cup, and by sharing information with neighboring partner hospitals, was able to source the new cups at enough of a cost savings to allow it to add biodegradable utensils that could be composted.

Challenge: Composting is too cumbersome

Solution: Find easy ways to increase participation

When Julie Ashbaugh stepped in as manager of food and nutrition services at California Pacific Medical Center’s Pacific campus three years ago, she learned that a previous composting effort had failed because the bins used to haul compost to the loading dock were too unwieldy for kitchen staff to transport. So Ashbaugh got a dozen smaller rolling carts, which cooks could take to their work stations, fill with scraps during prep and roll back easily for daily pickup.