GreenTown Will County Legislation, Ordinances and Planning: - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

GreenTown Will County

Legislation, Ordinances and Planning: Recycling, Waste Reduction and Composting Initiatives October 26, 2018

Jennifer Nelson

Seven Generations Ahead Illinois Food Scrap Coalition Illinois Wasted Food Solutions Task Force

Illinois Policy Update Reducing Wasted Food and Composting

Project Name:

Building Illinois’ Local Food Shed Through Advancing Food Scrap Composting

Funder:

Funded through the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust, Food:Land:Opportunity is a collaboration between Kinship Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust.

Partners:

Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, Illinois Green Economy Network, Illinois Environmental Council, Illinois Wasted Food Solutions Task Force

Outline

Reduce Waste/Reduce Wasted Food Food Recovery and Donation Food Scrap Composting CASE STUDIES: businesses, government agencies, institutions, and individuals take action

Illinois

• 14 million tons of waste landfilled

annually

• Nearly 20% of what is landfilled is food

scraps

• Of all compostable organics

generated, only 15% were composted (only 59% yard, and only 1% food)

Food Scraps Are Not Waste

40% of all food in the U.S. is wasted 1 out of 7 Americans are food insecure USDA & EPA U.S. Food Waste Challenge: Reduce food waste by 50% by 2030

Benefits of Food Waste Reduction

• Cost savings
• Feeding people
• Improved waste reduction and landfill

diversion - pollution prevention

• Community empowerment and resilience
• Partnerships
• Engagement and education - service

and work opportunities

FEDERAL

• Federal Food Donation Act of 2008 –

Requires food service contracts to have a clause encouraging donation. ILLINOIS

• SB2606 – requires all state agencies to have

a food donation policy and list of soup kitchens and food pantries available to all staff.

Food Donation Policies

• Create a waste reduction policy or goal for

city government (procurement, energy, waste diversion goals, recycling, composting)

• Create a food donation policy for city

government cafeterias, events, conferences

• Provide incentives to businesses that donate

leftover food

• Conduct a waste audit of any local

government institutions to identify opportunities to reduce, donate, recycle and compost

Possible Municipal Ordinances and Practices

Illinois Food Scrap Composting

Composting is a way of recycling food scraps and yard trimmings

Benefits of Composting

• Reduce material sent to

landfill

• Save water and energy
• Reduce pollutants
• Reduce carbon emissions
• Improve soil health,

reducing erosion and improving water retention

2015 Illinois DCEO waste characterization study

Job Creation

฀ New industries: urban food scrap processors and rural compost

• spreaders. Opportunities for in-state manufacturing, locally

sustained jobs, and increased revenue that will remain within Illinois. ฀ On a per-ton basis, composting in Illinois employs 5 times more workers than landfilling. ฀ For every 12,250 tons of organics processed, 1 new business will be created and will sustain 18.3 employees annually with an average salary of $50k.

Projected Benefits in Illinois

If Illinois can achieve the midpoint organics diversion goal of diverting 65%, this will annually create:

• 3,185 jobs paying an average salary of $50k
• $290 million in economic output for the

state

• $10.5 million in local and state tax revenue
• Over 2 million tons of diversion away from

landfills

• Over 800k MTCO2e in GHG emissions

reduction

Food Scrap Composting Methods

On-site:

Composting Bins/Tumblers Vermicomposting In-vessel composter Dehydrator Anaerobic digester

Off-site:

Commercial composting Farm composting

• 1. Sort food scraps
• 2. Haul to a

compost facility

• 3. Food scraps

decompose

Commercial Composting

• 4. Finished

compost sold

Municipal Food Scrap Programs

Collection of food scraps (compostable food-soiled paper, compostable serviceware and

• ther organic wastes) sometimes through adding

these to an existing yard waste collection program

Food Scrap Composting in Illinois

50 IEPA permitted compost processors

○ 12-14 of these accept food scraps

187 We Compost partners

restaurants, institutions, businesses, schools and municipalities compost food scraps

25 Municipal food scrap programs State policies enacted to support hauling and processing of food scraps

LOCAL

• Typically no more than 5 cubic yards
• May consider small setbacks (less than 3

feet from property line)

• Enclosure of vessel used for composting
• Requirement that the pile be nuisance

free.

• Prohibition of materials: Cat/dog waste,

Meat, dairy, fats/oil/greases

Backyard Composting

Compost One Day Drop Offs

ILLINOIS One Day Drop Off

• Need permission from the municipality or county in

unincorporated areas

• Need to notify the solid waste coordinator for the county 30

days before

• No permit is needed from IEPA and no notice needs to be give

to IEPA

Permanent Drop Off

• Container only 10 cubic yards at any one time
• Must be emptied every 7 days

ILLINOIS

• Any community garden or other site in the state to

accept up to 25 cubic yards of off-site materials both landscape waste and additives such as food scrap or coffee grounds without a permit. Provided the final product can not be sold and is used on site. That 25 cubic yards is restriction on the total amount landscape waste plus additives that can be on site at any one time and is not an annual restriction.

• On site food scrap composted at an on site

composting system with the end product used on site.

Illinois Composting Permit Exemptions

Urban Farm Composting

ILLINOIS A garden or farm is allowed to compost off-site landscape waste and up to 10% additives. Size of operation can be up to 2% of the size of the property.The property has to be principally devoted to agriculture and the growing of crops.

• The finished product cannot be sold and must be used on-site

and applied at agronomic rates.

• A tipping fee cannot be charged for the acceptance of off-site

materials.

• The composting cannot occur within a flood plain or 200 feet

from a flood plain.

• The operation must register with the IEPA, annually report the

amount they are composting and certify that they are complying with the restriction laid out above.

• In addition, there is a 1/4 mile set-back requirement from

residences but municipality in the state can through an

• rdinance create a set-back that is lower than 1/4 of a mile.

Municipal Guide to Commercial Food Scrap Composting

A Municipal Guide is in development to document and share strategies and resources to encourage municipal food scrap composting

• Contract language and partner collaboration
• Overview of existing policy
• Education and engagement strategies
• Case studies of existing programs
• Compost procurement guide
• Comprehensive survey of existing municipal

programs

Case Studies - Illinois Composts!

SCHOOLS SGA Zero Waste Schools and Chicago Public Schools COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES College of Lake County HOSPITALS Rush Oak Park Hospital JAILS Lake County Adult Corrections MUSEUMS The Field Museum

Worki with school staff and students to shift operations and minds towards generating zero waste through source reduction, recycling, composting, and food recovery.

• Help schools plan effective waste reduction strategies
• Provide on-the-ground support for operational changes
• Educate students and staff about the How and Why of going zero waste
• Connect schools with local partners and opportunities
• Drive policy changes and infrastructure development that promote zero

waste.

SGA’s Zero Waste Schools Program

We help lunchrooms that look like this...

… become zero waste lunchrooms that look like this:

Chicago Public Schools Commercial Composting & Recycling Program

Results at Sandoval Elementary, a school of 1,015 students:

The Sandoval lunchroom went from 36 big trash bags per day to less than 7 bags per day.

College of Lake County

Off-Campus Commercial Processor

Plate waste, cafeteria food scraps

Campus Farm Composting

Food prep in kitchen and coffee shops (veggies, fruit, coffee and filters)

Rush Oak Park Hospital

• 2013-to date
• Since the program’s implementation, over 127 tons of food

scraps have been composted

• SGA works with the hospital to provide educational tours for
• ther institutions considering launching a food scrap

composting program.

Adult Corrections

Food waste in the prison system is significant:

• An estimated 200,000 tons of food is wasted

in American jails

• 65% of jobs in the green economy are

accessible to people with criminal records

Impact of Composting

WITH PROGRAM BEFORE PROGRAM

Environmental Benefits: ❖ 495 cubic yards of dining/kitchen materials diverted from landfills each year ❖ 361.35 cubic yards of food waste composted each year Economic Benefits: ❖ Lake County estimated annual savings: $3900 Educational Benefits: ❖ Engaging inmates on proper composting and recycling will provide job skills to support inmates post release

Composting at the Field Museum

Sustainable operations: recycling, food service, alternative transportation, urban agriculture/community gardening and renewable

• energy. Began composting in 2009

❖ In 2015, a staff composting program was established within the Museum, with compost bins now located near designated staff and volunteer eating areas, as well as in areas easily accessed by custodians ❖ 2016 kept 112 tons of waste- over 246,000 pounds – out of landfills ❖ In 2017 the Museum restaurants stopped giving visitors lids and straws

Using Compost at Home and at Work

WHERE? Use compost as mulch around shrubs, trees, or flowers, and on paths; as a top-dressing for lawns or indoor plants HOW? Use compost as a soil amendment to break up clay-type soils

• r to add substance and water

retention to sandy soils; WHY? Compost used as a soil amendment provides plant nutrients, supports beneficial soil life, reduces soil diseases, increases water retention, adds drainage, and promotes weed and erosion control. COMPOST

Completely decayed

• rganic matter. It is dark,
• dorless, and rich in soil
• benefits. Compost is created

from the decomposition of yard and food wastes.

vs. MULCH

Covering for soil. Mulch should not generally be mixed into the soil, it is not a fertilizer or soil amendment.

Use of End Product Compost

1. Procure compost for your community’s

• wn landscape maintenance activities.

2. Require the use of compost in development projects in your community.

Opportunities in Will County

• 1. Learn from other counties and municipalities
• 2. Identify key partners
• 3. What do your residents want?
• 4. What do your institutions and businesses

want?

• 5. Look at your hauler contract and those of

your municipalities

• 6. What are the costs and benefits?

Seven Generations Ahead

www.sevengenerationsahead.org

Illinois Food Scrap Coalition

www.illinoiscomposts.org

RECYCLING WORKS: A Tool Kit for Reducing Waste in the Workplace

https://www.illinois.gov/dceo/whyillinois/targetindustries/energ y/recycling/pages/wastereduction.aspx

USEPA Waste Reduction Model

https://www.epa.gov/warm

Tools and Resources

Thank You!

Jennifer Nelson Senior Program Manager, Seven Generations Ahead jennifer@sevengenerationsahead.org Founding Board Member, Illinois Food Scrap Coalition Founding Member, Illinois Wasted Food Solutions Task Force