Source-separated organics (SSO) is the system by which waste generators segregate compostable materials from other waste streams at the source for separate collection.
Source-separated organics (SSO) is the system by which waste generators segregate compostable materials from other waste streams at the source for separate collection.
Organic materials, such as yard trimmings, food scraps, wood waste, and paper and paperboard products, typically make up about one-third (by weight) of the municipal solid waste stream. [1] SSO programs depend on the composition of local waste stream, acceptance specifications for the organics processing facility, and collection methods. The types of organic materials collected include:
SSO programs have been launched in a wide range of venues, including single-family residential units, commercial businesses, events, food processors, schools, hospitals, and airports. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has assembled tools and resources for food waste management to assist communities interested in launching their own food waste reduction and collection efforts. [2] SSO materials are typically collected in wet-strength paper bags, unlined plastic bins, or compostable film-plastic liners that meet ASTM 6400 standards.
The organic fraction of the waste stream is increasingly viewed as a resource. The resulting products – renewable energy and compost – benefit the environment: reduce greenhouse gas emissions; reduce dependency on foreign energy imports; increase the nutrient composition of our soils; reduce the amount of waste going to landfills; reduce the amount of wet, sloppy waste going to other methods of disposal; reduce the leachate associated with stormwater management at landfills; reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from uncontrolled landfill operations; improve erosion and stormwater control through biofiltration (Schwab, 2000).
Communities and businesses that want to implement SSO programs face a few challenges. First, they need participation at the source of their organic waste generation. Second, they need a hauler willing to collect the organic waste. Third, they need a composting facility permitted to process the material. These challenges have been overcome by many successful SSO programs. Tactics for addressing barriers to adoption include creating outreach and education materials, [3] [4] [5] forging partnerships between local businesses to share fixed collection costs, [6] and creating incentives for organic diversion through regulated tip fees for solid waste and organics.
Organic materials collected in SSO programs typically get delivered to composting facilities where the waste is turned into nutrient-rich soil amendments known as compost. Organic feedstock can also be delivered to anaerobic digestion facilities that produce biogas, a source of renewable energy. The resulting biogas (methane) can then be used for cogeneration (electricity and heat preferably on or close to the site of production) and can be used in gas combustion engines or turbines. With further upgrading to synthetic natural gas it can be injected into the natural gas network or further refined to hydrogen for use in stationary cogeneration fuel cells.
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.
A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was simply left in piles or thrown into pits.
Biosolids are solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process and used as fertilizer. In the past, it was common for farmers to use animal manure to improve their soil fertility. In the 1920s, the farming community began also to use sewage sludge from local wastewater treatment plants. Scientific research over many years has confirmed that these biosolids contain similar nutrients to those in animal manures. Biosolids that are used as fertilizer in farming are usually treated to help to prevent disease-causing pathogens from spreading to the public. Some sewage sludge can not qualify as biosolids due to persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals, radionuclides, and heavy metals at levels sufficient to contaminate soil and water when applied to land.
Anaerobic digestion is a sequence of processes by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process is used for industrial or domestic purposes to manage waste or to produce fuels. Much of the fermentation used industrially to produce food and drink products, as well as home fermentation, uses anaerobic digestion.
Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane, with the remainder being mostly carbon dioxide. Trace amounts of other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprise the remainder (<1%). These trace gases include a large array of species, mainly simple hydrocarbons.
Articles related to waste management include:
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'
Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) refers to a series of processes designed to convert waste materials into usable forms of energy, typically electricity or heat. As a form of energy recovery, WtE plays a crucial role in both waste management and sustainable energy production by reducing the volume of waste in landfills and providing an alternative energy source.
A mechanical biological treatment (MBT) system is a type of waste processing facility that combines a sorting facility with a form of biological treatment such as composting or anaerobic digestion. MBT plants are designed to process mixed household waste as well as commercial and industrial wastes.
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not include things such as dried leaves, pine straw, or hay. Such materials are rich in carbon and considered "brown wastes," while green wastes contain high concentrations of nitrogen. Green waste can be used to increase the efficiency of many composting operations and can be added to soil to sustain local nutrient cycling.
Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, anaerobic digestion or similar processes. It mainly includes kitchen waste, ash, soil, dung and other plant matter. In waste management, it also includes some inorganic materials which can be decomposed by bacteria. Such materials include gypsum and its products such as plasterboard and other simple sulfates which can be decomposed by sulfate reducing bacteria to yield hydrogen sulfide in anaerobic land-fill conditions.
A green bin is a large, movable, rigid plastic or metal container that contains biodegradable waste or compostable materials as a means to divert waste from landfills. In some local authorities, green bins are also used to contain unsorted municipal solid waste.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) – more commonly known as trash or garbage – consists of everyday items people use and then throw away, such as product packaging, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, bottles, food scraps and papers. In 2018, Americans generated about 265.3 million tonnes of waste. In the United States, landfills are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the states' environmental agencies. Municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLF) are required to be designed to protect the environment from contaminants that may be present in the solid waste stream.
Game day recycling is the idea that having large crowds of people in a small, concentrated space will generate a great deal of refuse and products that require recycling. A home football game at a college with a high-capacity stadium can attract up to 110,000 people. However, because colleges only play a limited number of games at home throughout each season, the game-day recycling programs are usually specialized and separated from the school’s regular recycling program.
Solid waste policy in the United States is aimed at developing and implementing proper mechanisms to effectively manage solid waste. For solid waste policy to be effective, inputs should come from stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, universities, and other research organizations. These inputs form the basis of policy frameworks that influence solid waste management decisions. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates household, industrial, manufacturing, and commercial solid and hazardous wastes under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Effective solid waste management is a cooperative effort involving federal, state, regional, and local entities. Thus, the RCRA's Solid Waste program section D encourages the environmental departments of each state to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial and municipal solid waste. Each state will have different methods on how to educate and control the flow of waste
The San Francisco Mandatory Recycling and Composting Ordinance is a local municipal ordinance requiring all persons located in San Francisco to separate their recyclables, compostables and landfilled trash and to participate in recycling and composting programs. Passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 2009, it became the first local municipal ordinance in the United States to universally require source separation of all organic material, including food residuals.
Resource recovery is using wastes as an input material to create valuable products as new outputs. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste generated, thereby reducing the need for landfill space, and optimising the values created from waste. Resource recovery delays the need to use raw materials in the manufacturing process. Materials found in municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste, commercial waste and industrial wastes can be used to recover resources for the manufacturing of new materials and products. Plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and metal are examples of where value can be found in waste.
Harvest Power, Inc. was a privately held organics management company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States that specializes in converting food waste and yard waste into biofuel, compost, mulch and fertilizer. In 2014 Fast Company named it one of the most innovative companies in the world. In August of 2020 Harvest Power Orlando ceased operations for unknown reasons and all assets were put up for sale; the company was dissolved in April 2021.
Statistical data shows that waste management in Winnipeg during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Food waste recycling is a process to convert food waste into useful materials and products for achieving sustainability of the environment. Food waste is defined as all parts of food, inedible and edible, created before, during, and after food processing, production, and consumption. Greenhouse gases, especially methane can be reduced by food waste recycling. Food waste recycling can also alleviate the saturation of landfill sites in Hong Kong.