Metro manages food scraps from more than 900 businesses throughout the region and sends the material to private businesses that turn it into electricity, fuels and compost.
Recently, the main company that accepts food scraps from Metro Central Transfer Station has experienced difficulties processing non-food items – things like waxed or food-soiled cardboard, other paper products and serviceware – that are mixed with food scraps. The amount of non-food materials mixed with food scraps is making it difficult to process the food scraps effectively and puts the program in jeopardy long-term.
Metro works hard to manually remove the non-food items from the waste before it is processed but the large volume of non-food items makes the job very difficult and expensive. This video illustrates some of the challenges faced at Metro Central, and shows what food waste collected from businesses looks like when it arrives at Metro Central:
In late March, Metro notified more than 900 businesses that generate food scraps that Metro will no longer be accepting non-food items, other than compostable bags, in the commercial food waste program. Specifically:
- Starting Nov. 1, loads of food scraps may not contain waxed or regular corrugated cardboard.
- As of March 1, 2015, loads of food scraps may not contain non-food items other than compostable bags.
After these deadlines, loads of food scraps from businesses that do not comply with these requirements will be charged higher garbage rates, rather than lower rates charged for organics, and the contents of such loads will be sent to landfills.
By implementing these changes, Metro is working to preserve our region’s food scraps collection program and ensure that unwanted food provides environmental and economic benefit.