Coffee Manager Brainstorms With Others to Start City-Wide Composting Program

By Elizabeth DeOrnellas, Winston-Salem Journal, N.C.

Aug. 5–Last year, the city collected 78,000 tons of garbage — waste that Mitchell Britt would like to see put to good use.

Britt, a manager at Krankies Coffee, is trying to jumpstart a citywide recycling effort he’s dubbed Compost! Winston-Salem. The goal is to set up a composting service to collect organic waste from local restaurants and groceries and funnel it to local farms to use as fertilizer.

Britt said that many in The Werehouse, the artists’ residence in downtown Winston-Salem that houses Krankies, are interested in the project. He’s been brainstorming with local farmers and industrial composters about the best way to start such a program.

Britt said he’s also like to conduct workshops on composting for homeowners and businesses and to set up an educational Web site to offer how-to information. He has scheduled a meeting at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28 at Krankies, 211 E. Third St., for people who’d like to take part in a composting program.

An efficient composting program can divert as much as 12 percent of landfill solid waste to recycling, said Craig Coker, a consulting engineer to composting programs. Coker’s company, based in Roanoke, Va., has worked with several N.C. cities to set up waste management programs.

The key to a successful citywide program is to consider the needs of each business, he said.

“It all has to be very carefully tailored to each restaurant’s method of operation.”

Restaurants would need to train staff to recognize what waste can be composted. Large-scale commercial operations generate enough heat to compost meat, seafood and bone, materials not recommended for backyard composting, but restaurants would still have to filter out plastic, glass and metal scraps.

Each participating restaurant would also need a secure container to store compostable scraps until pick up.

Finding people willing to haul the waste is the biggest obstacle to starting a composting program, said Brian Rosa, an organic recycling specialist with the state’s Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance.

The state does not issue permits to haul food waste, but haulers need to get permits from the local government, Rosa said. Farmers who would be using the waste to feed animals would also need permits.

There are six compost facilities in the state that can take food waste, but Brooks Contractor is currently the only hauler, he said.

Brooks Contractor has four full-time routes within the state. The company plans to expand into the Greensboro area by September, said Amy Brooks, the company’s food waste coordinator.

She said that the company currently has about 60 customers and that it would need to enlist several large cafeterias or restaurants in order to support a full-time route in Greensboro.

In Winston-Salem, Innovative Recycling Services, which has been operating a wood recycling site on West Clemmonsville Road since May 2007, is trying to get a permit to use its site to compost food waste.

“I’ve got more markets for the material than I have the opportunity to make material,” said Gary Bilbro, the company’s president.

The company’s composting permit is on hold while it waits to get a stormwater permit approved by the state’s Division of Water Quality, Bilbro said. He expects to wait at least another three months.

Bilbro said local landscapers, nurseries, farmers, golf courses and even vineyards have expressed interest in receiving compost.

He also said he has many potential contributors lined up, such as the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System and area universities including Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem State University, UNC Greensboro and N.C. A&T State University, as well as Joel Coliseum and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

In North Carolina, Orange County has seen success with a composting program. Since it began in 1999, the county’s program has grown from recycling a few hundred tons per year to more than 4,000 tons.

The county pays Brooks Contractor to haul food waste from UNC Chapel Hill, local restaurants and a few grocery stores. The finished compost is sold to landscapers, gardeners and farmers.

Compost made from food scraps is much more potent than that made from backyard debris, Brooks said.

“Food waste is an excellent micronutrient source.”

Elizabeth DeOrnellas can be reached at 727-7279 or at edeornellas@wsjournal.com.

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