Food Waste Recycling in New Jersey

1
Food Waste Recyclingin New Jersey

• Camden County Food Waste Recycling Forum
• Barry D. Brown Health Education Center
• Voorhees, New Jersey
• July 21, 2008

2
Commercial Organics Diversion

• A Sustainable Business Partnership
• Generators
• Supermarkets, resorts/hotels, convention centers,
  restaurants, colleges, food processors,
  hospitals, corporate cafeterias, etc.
• Vendors of Services
• Receiving facilities, hauling companies, other
  suppliers (bags)
• Governmental entities
• US EPA, NJ EPA, NJ DEP, regional solid waste
  districts
• Industry organizations
• NJ Food Council, NJ restaurant association, NJ
  hotelier association WasteWise, organics
  organizations (BioCycle, USCC, BPI)
• Communities where businesses operate
• Chambers of Commerce, economic development,
  city/town leaders

3
Business Model Synergy

• Commercial Organics Diversion/Recycling and Waste
  Stream Management
• Should
• Increase revenues
• Decrease costs
• Meet stakeholder goals
• Satisfies operational requirements of all
  participants
• Makes environmental sense
• Is synchronous with government, industry, and
  community initiatives
• Program evaluation is primarily based on
  bottom-line results
• Typically trumps all other considerations

4
Commercial Organics Diversion

• Business Model Synergy Overview
• Receiving Facilities
• Disposal revenues rise
• Compost or outbound product (fuel, fertilizer)
  revenues increase
• Generators
• Lower disposal cost per ton for organic waste
• Increased opportunities to maximize recycling
• Organics-niche Hauling Companies
• Increased revenues through increased hauls and/or
  improved route density

5
Business Model - Not Just Food Waste

• All Recyclables
• Organics largest component of the waste stream
  (tonnage)
• Produce, other departments, paper, wet waxed
  cardboard, rendering
• Anything that is not glass, metal, or plastic
• OCC
• Maximize compacting/baling as result of organics
  focus
• Waxed cardboard
• Composting, fire logs
• Collection can be problematic
• Loose, baled, back-haul, etc.
• Plastics
• Primarily film
• Generate revenues vs. disposal fees
• Other recyclables
• Metal, glass

6
NJ Today State-Wide Challenges

• Receiving Facilities, Transportation, Generators
• Limited composting/receiving capacity today -
  improving
• Facilities capable of working with varied
  generator base
• Understand organizational dynamics define
  operational/economic models
• Generators, composters, vendors, communities,
  regulatory agencies
• Limited generator knowledge
• How to I do this ? Where do I send It ? What
  will it cost ?
• Fear of the unknown cost, odors, storage space,
  vendor relationships, customer awareness
• Transportation infrastructure for organics
• Cost-effective organic-niche transportation
  solutions - emerging

7
Top Level Supermarket Economics

• Average profit 1.5 sales
• Retail payroll 12.00 of sales
• Capital expenditures 3.00 to 5.00 of sales
• Supplies 1.00 of sales
• Waste removal Less than 0.30 of sales
• Potential savings for organics diversion - almost
  insignificant as a percent of sales
• Can be improved with operational excellence,
  complementary recycling programs, intelligent
  expense management, and favorable vendor
  relations
• Similar financial dynamics in other sectors
• Expense as a percent of sales or revenues may be
  greater

8
WHY ??

• Why Would the Generator Community and Others Do
  This?
• US EPA goal to double organics diversion
• 2 to 4 - potential upside is significant
• Green or Sustainability movement consumers,
  society, businesses
• Focus on the environment and the future
  sustainability
• Companies responding to customer demands e.g.
  Cedar Point green park rental day Honda, Ohio
• Governmental initiatives
• State of New Jersey goals as set out this AM
• California recycling and organics diversion
  mandates
• Massachusetts looming threat of supermarket
  organics ban
• Business development and learning opportunities
• Cost-reduction initiatives supplies, services
  purchased, energy
• Long-term waste-to-energy solutions AD
  biofuels from food scraps

9
Commercial Organics Strategy

• Generators
• Entice potential generators
• Supermarkets, resorts/hotels, convention centers
• Restaurants, colleges, food processors, corporate
  cafeterias, others
• Define operational and economic models leading to
  improved bottom-line results
• Reduced expenses, improved market share,
  increased revenues
• Qualify generators
• Current waste management practices
• Operational procedures
• Economic analysis
• Lower costs for disposal
• Optimal costs for transportation
• Increase revenues for other commodities
• OCC, film plastics, other recyclables (glass,
  metal, paper)

10
Commercial Organics Strategy

• Receiving Facilities
• Integrate new/anticipated receiving capacity into
  the State strategy
• New Jersey DEP /or EPA
• US EPA organics strategy double organics
  diversion
• Regional solid waste districts
• Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group (SWRRG) - food
  waste recycling initiative
• New Jersey Food Council sustainability
  initiatives
• Environmental Committee
• Objectives To encourage NJFC member
  participation in various aspects of sound solid
  waste policy and study and make recommendations
  on source reduction as it pertains to product and
  packaging development. A Sub-committee is the
  Composting Task Force.

11
Commercial Organics

• Hauling
• Hauling solutions
• Organic-niche hauling companies
• Composting facility as the hauling company
• Compactors dumpsters toters
• Trans-docking or transfer station concept
• Hauling Economics
• Geography proximate to composting facility 25
  mile radius
• Regions further out greater than 25 miles
  radius
• Cost optimization
• Route density
• Transfer station trans-docking
• Existing and future generator/hauler relationships

12
Economic Tenets for Organics Diversion

• Organics Disposal
• Pricing transparency of tonnage and
  transportation costs - critical to maximizing
  revenue and minimizing expense
• Pay for disposal on a per ton basis
• Benefits both the generator and the receiving
  facility
• Critical to maximize savings from disposal fee
  differential
• Aligns generator in a direct business partnership
  with the receiving facility
• Invoiced on a per-ton basis by the receiving
  facility
• Defined price per ton for disposal
• Per ton for compactors
• Per ton for dumpsters assumes truck scale
  capability
• Per ton (or decimal of ton) for toters Truck
  scale or toter program can be on an agreed-upon
  average toter weight (e.g. 225 lbs. per toter)

13
Economic Tenets for Organics Diversion

• Organics Hauling
• Pay for hauling on a per pick-up basis
• Have hauling managed (invoiced?) if possible by
  the receiving facility
• Facility either subcontracts, partners with, or
  self-hauls
• Compactor per haul based on distance and
  trucking costs
• Most hauling companies can do this
• Dumpsters toters per stop, assuming multiple
  stops on a route
• Usually requires an organics-niche hauling
  company
• Can make program start-up difficult
• Close working relationship between the receiving
  facility and the hauling company
• As if it is one vendor relationship from the
  generator standpoint

14
NJ Strategic Initiatives

• Three Parallel Efforts 2007/2008
• Identify/solidify the food waste receiving
  infrastructure
• Increase food waste receiving capacity
• Gain simultaneous government, industry,
  generator, receiving facilities, hauler
  commitment
• Communication, education, analysis, funding,
  results, buy-in
• Leverage synergistic business partnerships
• Generators supermarkets, convention centers,
  resorts, others
• Cities, chambers of commerce, economic
  development initiatives
• Receiving facilities
• Transportation organics-niche hauling companies
• Governmental industry entities support,
  direction, goals

15
New Jersey Tomorrow - State-Wide Considerations

• Strategic Process Capable of Growing at a
  Reasonable Pace
• Expanding list of generators build on
  supermarket foundation
• Known and planned receiving and hauling
  capacities/solutions
• Financially responsible cost structure
• Positive economics for all business partners and
  stakeholders
• Public relations initiatives
• Active promotion of program progress and success
• Business partners generators, receiving
  facilities, haulers
• US EPA, NJ EPA, NJ DEP, WasteWise, industry
  associations (BioCycle, USCC, BPI), trade
  publications (BioCycle)