Pacific Grove Starts Accepting Food Scraps for Recycling

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): Pacific Grove is the first city on the Monterey Peninsula offering an organics recycling program.

In September, the city and Monterey Regional Waste Management District started accepting food scraps at the Pacific Grove Farmer’s Market. MRWMD is handing out pails at the market for people to collect their organic waste and bring it to the market for disposal.

MRWMD then takes the food scraps and turns them into energy and compost.

“We take all types of food scraps … that is what you are cooking within the kitchen, as well as when you finish your meal and scrape your plate,” said Angela Goebel with MRWMD.

Because the material is composted commercially, the program accepts more types of food than people can normally compost at home.

“We take more food items in this program than you might with your backyard composting, like dairy and meats and bread,” Goebel said.

Since starting the program at the end of September, 31 tons of organic material has been diverted from landfills.

MRWMD uses anaerobic composting to break down the organics. During the process methane is produced, which is used to create electricity for the Monterey Regional Water Pollution Control Agency.

The material left behind is compost that is used at orchards and vineyards in Monterey County.

Courtesy: https://wasteadvantagemag.com