While Austin, like most Texas cities, has a recycling program, the capital of the state is experimenting with commercial composting, using food and other organic waste to create mulch and potter's soil for commercial use, according to the Austin American Statesman.
What does Austin currently encourage recycling?
According to the Realty Austin page, Austin encourages its residents to put a variety of materials in the recycle bin. These include plastic, metal, glass, paper and cardboard of particular kinds. There are instructions about what types of these materials are acceptable for recycling and which types are not.
How is Austin dealing with commercial composting?
So far Austin is monitoring how commercial businesses are handling composting operations. Austin is considering a new recycling ordinance for Oct. 1, 2013, that might require restaurants and other businesses to recycle their food waste for companies to pick up in order to compost.
What companies are currently collecting food waste for commercial composting?
Several companies are collecting food waste from Austin restaurants and are using it to run commercial composting operations. These include Break it Down, Organics by Gosh, and Ecology Action of Texas. Ecology Action also runs a more conventional recycling operation.
How does commercial composting work?
Businesses such as restaurants will pay a commercial composter to haul away their food waste in a separate bin to a central facility. According to Ehow, a commercial compost operation would try to have a ratio of 25 times more carbon sources (i.e. wood, paper products, leaves and fruit wastes) to nitrogen sources (horse, swine and cattle manure, grass clippings, food scraps and vegetable wastes.) Availability of oxygen, moisture, and PH factors also are a factor in running a composting operation.
A typical commercial compost operation is described by Organics By Gosh. Typically a business will be asked to fill a 32- to 95-gallon cart or a 2- to 6-cubic yard dumpster located at their back loading dock. The company will empty the cart or dumpster when it is full and take the waste to its facility.
The company then uses these materials to create mulch, potter's soil and a variety of other material that is sold on the commercial market.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
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