12 Mar Food Waste’s Highest and Best Use?

As Austin moves forward on its Zero Waste plan, a number of potential pitfalls have begun to present themselves.  Among the most puzzling is the recent attempt to establish a city sponsored pilot program for garbage disposal maker Insinkerator to install its devices in apartments as a part of the Zero Waste effort.  Everyone knows, of course, that garbage disposals grind up and flush out our food scraps, we also know that this is hardly the highest and best use for our food “waste.”  Still, Councilmember Bill Spelman has been angling to get Insinkerator in on the city’s Zero Waste plan, and the Austin Zero Waste community is resisting these efforts.

Austin’s wastewater ends up in Hornsby Bend where the biosolids are collected and downcycled into ‘Dillo Dirt, a low quality compost used on city property.  Putting one’s food wastes into a backyard compost pile is considerably more useful than sending them to Hornsby Bend, and feeding them to animals or even humans is far more sustainable and valuable than even that.  To make things even easier, the city is preparing pilot programs for curbside compost, meaning that garbage disposals are soon to be unnecessary.  This is one reason why lobbyists from Insinkerator are fighting to be considered a part of the plan; another is to promote their products in developing nations still used to composting all of their waste.  Either way, the Insinkerator proposal has a lot of local environmentalists scratching their heads.

The city’s Water and Wastewater Commission is set to take public comment on the issue this Wednesday, April 11 at 6 PM at the Waller Creek Center, 625 E. 10th St., Room 104.  At the same time the Zero Waste Advisory Commission (ZWAC) will also be considering the issue at City Hall, 310 W. 2nd St., in Council Chambers.   Resolutions will be introduced which will urge the rejection of this proposed program in favor of a renewed focus on food salvage and composting.  Also, the resolutions will call for more public education about the problems of pouring Fats, Oils and Greases (FOGs) down the drain, a problem Insinkerator proposes to solve.  Composting these materials is possible, and biofuel companies are interested in paying for them.  Pouring food down the drain is a waste of resources; come out to the Commissions on Wednesday and let them know you think so too!

If you can't make it out, please email the commissioners your thoughts:

Zero Waste Advisory Commission

Gerard Acuna, Chair: trirecycle@aol.com

Rick Cofer, Co Chair: rick@rickcofer.com

Cathy Gattuso: cegattuso@yahoo.com

Fayez Kazi: fayez@civiltude.com

James Nortey: james.nortey@gmail.com

Jeff Paine: jeff.h.paine@gmail.com

Brent Perdue: brent@ecology-action.org
 

Water and Wastewater Commission

Gwendolyn Webb, Chair: g.hill.webb@webbwebblaw.com

Dale Gray, Vice Chair: dgray@espeyconsultants.com

Sarah Faust: sarah.b.faust@gmail.com

Mickey Fishbeck: rimrok@earthlink.net

Aaron Googins: aarongoogins@yahoo.com

Chien Lee: chienlee2005@yahoo.com

William Moriarty: wmoriarty@austin.rr.com

Also, copy your comments to the Council.  You can email them all at once here.

Here's the ZWAC resolution, which can also serve as talking points for why this Insinkerator program is a bad idea.  The Water and Wastewater Commission's version is more focused on the impacts to our sewage systems.  Essentially, Zero Waste means not flushing resources down the drain, which is what this program proposes to do; it really is as simple as that.

Whereas, food waste disposers have been banned for commercial use in Austin; and

Whereas, there is a planned pilot program focused on a public education campaign around composting in 2013 and a rollout of compost for single-family homes, multi-family dwellings and commercial establishments; and

Whereas, food waste disposers do not align with Austin's Zero Waste Master Plan; and

Whereas, food waste disposers divert valuable food scraps to Hornsby Bend where low-grade compost is made; and,

Whereas, the Austin Zero Waste Plan calls for the "highest and best use" of all waste diverted, which should start with food salvage for humans and animals; and

Whereas, the curbside composting program is planned for 2015 for curbside single-family units, multifamily and commercial composting, where rich, valuable fertilizers can be produced to replenish our soils, plants and trees; and,

Whereas, composting can create more local businesses enhance community gardens in and around the Austin area; and

Whereas, the use of food waste disposers use valuable resources such as water and electricity; and,

Whereas, the Austin Water Utility states that putting solids and FOGS, (fats, oil and grease) down the drain can clog pipes and hasten their deterioration; and,

Whereas, the acceptance of funds from a private company to test its products could give the impression that the City of Austin is endorsing and promoting a private company and its products; and,

Whereas, many composting business owners agree that FOGs are acceptable waste to mix into composting operations and actually add them to compost piles to spur production of bacteria for expedited breakdown of materials; and,

Whereas, the biofuels industry has great potential for growth in Austin and in Texas and the collection of household FOGs could be used to grow this trade; and,

Whereas, a representative of the company that manufactures and advocates use of food waste disposer stated that the company seeks to use Austin's adoption of its product when marketing food waster disposers in India and China

Therefore, be it resolved that the Solid Waste Advisory Commission calls on the Austin City Council and Austin Resource Recovery Department to keep the focus on educating residents on the highest and best use of food scraps through food salvage for human and animal consumption and composting, rather than participating in a pilot program with Insinkerator for inferior food disposal methods.

Be it further resolved that the City of Austin consider launching an effective city-wide effort to educate residents about the problems caused when residents put food, fats, oil and grease down the drain and other options for the reuse, recycling and composting of these materials.