According to the EPA, the Unites States generate over 30 million tons (27.2 million tonnes) of food waste every year, and recycles less than 3%.
As anaerobic bacteria digest our trash, they release carbon dioxide and methane gas, both of which seep out of the soil and into the air. As a result, landfills are one of the largest producers of methane, which has been proven to be a leading cause of global warming.
It takes an average of 30 years for organic waste to break down into stable compounds in your average landfill, in comparison, a well run composter will complete the job in as little as three weeks.
Brian Dick, CEO of Quest Recycling Services LLC and Matt Hedrick, EVP of Quest Recycling Services LLC were keynote speakers at Biocycle Tenth Annual Renewable Energy From Organics Recycling Conference in Des Moines, IA this month.
Dick and Hedrick encouraged conference participants to jump on the waste to energy revolution and build additional outlets to process organics into high value end products such as energy and compost.
"The time is right" said Dick. "There are less than 200 operating anaerobic digesters in the United States currently and only a select few of those have the ability to process food waste. In contrast, Europe has thousands that have been successful for many years producing green power from food waste. The time to invest in this technology is now."
"We are excited to be in the fore front of this exciting emerging business that can reduce the amount of food waste in our landfills and provide a much need green power source", said Matt Hedrick.
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