12 C-S C S
Sources of food scraps are what we at the former Highfields Center for Composting called food scrap generators (FSGs). Many people just call them gen-erators. FSGs = everybody. FSGs can be classified as
residential
,
commercial
,
institutional
, and
manufac-turing
(see chapter 4). The most likely sources of food scraps will depend on factors within your individual community, such as regional food scrap densities and the FSG sectors that local food scrap collection pro-viders serve (for instance, many haulers serve either residential FSGs or commercial, institutional, and manufacturing FSGs).Composting food scraps requires the addition of other raw materials to create a balanced recipe. Depending upon the community, any number of
sec-ondary feedstocks
might be generated and available for composting. In general, food scrap composters seek dry, high-carbon feedstocks such as leaves, wood chips and shavings, animal bedding, and clean shredded paper (to name just a few) to balance out the wet, nitrogenous character of food scraps.
Model Components
The most basic formula of composting models is
generator, collection, recycler, end user
. Let’s look at the individual roles and basic economics of these elements.
The Generator
Compostable materials are being generated literally everywhere we look, from leaves senescing in fall to leftovers passing their prime right now in my refrig-erator. Living involves the creation and expiration of unutilized organic matter. Enter decay.These points of generation are opportunities for composters in our communities to intervene. Food scraps in particular are a unifying material for the most recent generation of community-scale composters. The use of food scraps as a feedstock is rapidly growing; the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that food scrap composting increased from 2.2 percent of generation in 2000 to 5.1 percent in 2014.
Figure 1.1.
Food scraps are source-separated at a festival. Note Tyler Buswell (
right
) educating festival-goers at the Close the Loop recovery station.
Courtesy of Highfields Center for Composting and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.
C M C-S C 13
many cases composting through a collection service is a separate expense from trash, but renegotiating trash collection fees once the organics component has been removed can make up for it.
Collection and Transport
Diverting local food scraps and other feedstock to composting requires some form of collection and transport. Organic material is separated from other discards at the point of generation, and then trans-ported to the compost site or to another transfer point. If the composting takes place at the point of generation, it’s typically called on-site composting and transport is minimal. If the composting takes place elsewhere, more transport is involved.Some models involve self-hauling, such as residential food scrap drop-offs, where individual households take their scraps to a local drop point. There are also com-mercial or municipally operated food scrap collection services. Collection services are the literal go-betweens Where there is a need for disposal in the commu-nity, sourcing additional feedstocks may be simple and free. In many places, however, obtaining ade-quate feedstocks may take considerable effort and money. Composting operations’ demand for feed-stocks increases as food scrap processing increases, so keeping the two in balance requires planning and thought. In general, one part food scraps by volume requires three to five parts other materials in order to create a balanced recipe and mitigate problems. Feedstock characteristics, estimation, and recipe development are covered in depth in chapter 4.
Basic Geneator Economics
At the time of writing, diverting compostable materials is essentially an economic wash for most organics generators. Sometimes generators save money, sometimes they break even, and sometimes it costs them a little bit more for composting versus disposal. It all depends on the constantly shifting local economics of trash and organics recycling. In
Figure 1.2.
Bicycle collection is a thriving model in many cities around the country. Here Madeleine Froncek of Compost Pedallers in Austin, Texas, moves food scraps and other residential organics using a bicycle and cargo trailer.
Courtesy of Compost Pedallers.
14 C-S C S
organics, and some methods are better suited for cer-tain applications than others. Beyond the standard types of composting, other options that can add value for composters include integrating animals into your composting system, composting with worms, and adding heat recovery infrastructure to your compost-ing system. All of the standard composting methods, as well as composting with animals, are covered in great depth throughout this book. (I ran out of time and room to cover vermicomposting and compost heat recovery in as much depth, but hopefully there will be more to come on those topics.)
On-Site and Off-Site Composting
Two subsets of composter types are
on-site composters
and
off-site composters
. Where the composting takes place at the point of generation, it’s typically called on-site composting. All other composters are considered off-site, although we just refer to them as composters and leave the
off-site
part out. When we look at specific models, the location where the composting takes place is distinguished in this way.In the ILSR guide
Micro Composting: A Guide to Small Scale & On-Site Food Scrap Composting Sys-tems
, we wrote about the choice to compost off-site versus on-site and what it takes to make composting on-site work. For many businesses, schools, and other food scrap generators, the simplest option is letting a well-managed composting operation handle the actual composting process off-site, assuming there is an acceptable food scrap collection option available. When we look at the on-site and other non-commer-cial composting models in this guide, we focus a lot on the motivations behind each, which have a large impact on the sustainability of these models.
Basic Composter Economics
Composter revenues typically include compost sales and
tipping fees
. It is standard practice for composters to receive a tipping fee from a hauler when they accept and process food scraps. The fee is a justifiable cost to haulers, because it replaces the tipping fee that they would be charged at the landfill. Ultimately that cost is passed down to the generator. for FSGs and compost sites, and are sometimes oper-ated as side businesses by composters themselves.Composters also sometimes self-haul their sec-ondary feedstocks or contract haulers to do it. The dramatic increase in food scrap recycling has spurred a diversity of innovative new collection apparatuses at the community scale, from bicycle-powered sys-tems to trucks with capacities from 1 to 10 tons of food scraps per load (see chapter 12).In order to collect clean organic material, it is vital to provide education on
source separation
to FSGs and other feedstock sources. While in some cases third parties can provide this education to FSGs, it is often the responsibility of the collection service, and those who can’t get clean material risk paying more for tipping fees or losing a compost processor alto-gether. For more on source separation, see
Generator Training and Education
in chapter 12, page 347.
Basic Collection Economics
Typically haulers charge the generators for collection of food scraps. They then pay a composter a tipping fee to receive and process the material. Transporta-tion distance and route density are crucial factors in the profitability of collection services. The faster they can fill their hauling unit, the better the economic return. Many food scrap haulers report that they can make money in the current economic climate.The economics of transporting secondary feed-stocks varies considerably depending upon supply and demand for the given material (see
Feedstock Economics
in chapter 13, page 352). In general, though, this cost is paid by either the composter or the generator depending upon the material.
Composter (Organics Recycler)
Once material has been captured and collected, it is then transported to the compost site. There are a wide variety of options and methodologies for composting food scraps and other organics. All of the common composting methods are viable options for community-scale composters. The system needs to have the capacity to manage the intended volume of