Chris Rodinis

February 6th, 2013

http://earth911.com/news/2012/09/12/supermarket-waste-recycling/2/

We have all thought about grocery waste at some time or another.

When we ask in the store the usual response is that it is thrown away.

Then we say what a waste and  move on.  This post explores some creative solutions to grocery waste.

Instead of dumping out of date food, companies are now putting it to good use. Just about anything would be better than sending it to a landfill.

The new name for grocery recycling is “organic food waste recycling” and like most other waste streams, it is a new industry that is expanding rapidly.

“Just about everything that comes out of a grocery store has the ability to be recycled,” and  “A typical grocery store will see about 35 percent of the overall trash compactor is organic food waste, whether that’s produce, bakery, dairy, fruits or vegetables,” according to Brian Dick of Quest Recycling

Pickup To Process

So what options do supermarkets have? Use a recycling company that specializes in grocery waste! Currently, there are more than 4,000 stores nationwide that practice organic food waste recycling.

The organic food waste recycling company handles the processing for the grocery waste from pickup to processing. And usually the processing plant is no more than an hour’s drive.

As you might expect the breakdown of the out of date groceries is 33% of each: bakery, produce and dairy, respectively.

The first priority for the recycling company is delivery to charities, homeless or families in need. In other words, the good news is that now, some hungry poor people are getting some real food that they need to survive. This a step in the right direction.

Once the old groceries are deemed unfit for human consumption, next in the food chain to be fed is animals. Animals that are in zoos, parks, and shelters.

These first two priorities are great in that they are helpful to people and animals in need;  also there is a time and energy savings because at this stage there is no processing.

Anaerobic Digestion

The next best use for grocery waste is for energy creation by anaerobic digestion.

Anaerobic digestion is processing the food waste to a level where methane is a by-product that is used to make energy.

This is popular in Europe but not so much in the US. In the US about 5 percent of the food waste collected becomes fodder for anaerobic digestion. From there it lives on the grid as consumable energy.

 

Last on the list is composting. Composting is hot now. The majority of all grocery waste becomes compost. Simple. Here is the breakdown: people, animals, energy, compost.

The organic food recycling company that creates synergies combining all four on the list has an a big opportunity for profit or community enhancement.

For more information about recycling or electronic recycling:  www.EwasteWiz.com