By Lucas Flaherty
Composting is a vital method of food waste management. Although an extensive issue, composting is often neglected in public policy. The process from farm to table is a long journey with numerous checks to ensure the food is “acceptable” to eat. Composting targets consumers directly who, unlike retailers and manufacturers, have a choice as to what happens to their food. Many cities in the United States, especially those on the West Coast, have already implemented composting programs. Washington D.C., for example, has experimented with composting programs through education on composting and the establishment of centers where residents can compost food scraps. Even with these programs, this is not enough. Luckily, in recent months, D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment has proposed a solution.
Composting in some form has been around in Washington D.C. since the 1990s, starting with fall leaf collection (Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2022). Slowly, the system has expanded throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (DMV), and many regions and areas in the DMV have created their own composting system. Arlington County has “subsidized the purchase of GEOBIN backyard compost bins” to help reduce the number of scraps that go into their facilities (Compost or Else, 2019). They also have implemented organics bins to allow compostable products and yard waste to not get sent to landfills. Montgomery County has also offered residents to pick up free composting bins from several sites across the county.
Why is D.C. so behind in its composting efforts? D.C. has taken some steps in order to help with the food waste in the city. As of 2020, the city only diverts roughly 20% of its waste to composting and recycling (Compost or Else, 2019). In recent years, D.C. has offered small monetary rebates for any residents willing to purchase their own composting system, encouraging traditional composting as well as vermicomposting, a method that uses worms to break down materials. Another available method of composting in D.C. is a food waste drop-off (DC Department of Public Works, 2022). Drop-off sites are available in all eight wards but do require residents to actively make an effort to compost, posing a challenge to many.
Our society prioritizes time and wealth, and it is important for composting solutions to be efficient and affordable to make composting as effective as possible. This is why places like Arlington and Montgomery Counties have had such great success with their composting programs: their solutions allow residents to easily protect the environment while also maintaining a quick solution. D.C. must follow this lead, and D.C. residents can look forward to possible solutions for composting in the future.
Washington D.C. has struggled with food waste for a long time. Compost solutions are vital due to the environmental footprint food waste has pressed onto the city. D.C. Department of Public Works Interim Director Michael Carter stated that “food waste comprises as much as 30% of the city’s residential waste and, when landfilled, produces large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which contributes greatly to climate change” (Wusa9, 2022).
A majority of D.C.’s organic waste is discarded, either into a landfill or an incineration facility, contributing to the environmental impact that Washington D.C. has on the world. However, recent developments have been made on the issue. On April 21, 2022, D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment released its Fiscal Year 2023 Committee Budget Report, which detailed some steps that could be taken in order to help with the food waste issues that have plagued the city (Wusa9, 2022). The report proposed some ideas to ease the food waste issues. From this report came the committee’s proposal to allocate more than 4.4 million dollars to establish a pilot program introducing curbside composting at 10,000 D.C. residences (Wusa9, 2022). If implemented, this would be a major step forward in the process of reducing food waste in the city. This system, similar to those in Arlington and Montgomery Counties, would provide a structured and cheap composting service to D.C. residents. Another proposed solution targets businesses, providing them with 800,000 dollars to obtain on-site organic processing systems. If implemented, this solution would also minimize the amount of food waste coming from various parts of D.C. These potential solutions are the start of food management reform in the city.
While the proposal of these solutions is a strong start, implementing them will be a challenge. The pilot program has not been approved yet, and even after approval, many steps will need to be taken in order to bring these solutions to life. First, the pilot program has to be successfully completed in order to determine the costs and effectiveness of the potential program. Once the costs are determined, full funding will be required, which may be difficult because of the large scale of the project. Finally, a vendor will need to be signed on to help with the process. These steps make it difficult for the program to be implemented quickly; however, resilience from both the city and its residents will make the program more effective when it is finally approved. Carter mentioned how “a successful curbside organics collection pilot will allow the city to consider wider adoption, which could unlock as much as 30,000 tons per year of food waste to be composted or anaerobically digested, which would increase the city’s solid waste diversion rate and reduce the city’s carbon footprint” (Wusa9, 2022). Though this process may take time, there are several actions that D.C. residents can take to push this program forward. The first way is through showing interest. If the pilot program is successful and it seems like there is a lot of interest, the program will most likely go into widespread use.
Our community must show policymakers how vital environmental protection is. Composting food waste could allow Washington D.C. could make in order to meet its Zero Waste goals. D.C.’s goals include “diverting 80 percent of its waste away from the landfill or incineration towards renewable solutions by 2032” (Compost or Else, 2019). Composting is just the first step in meeting these goals, but if we support these actions by doing our part, hopefully, these goals will become a reality.
Works Cited
Food waste drop-off. Food Waste Drop-Off | Residents | Zero Waste DC. (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://dpw.dc.gov/foodwastedropoff
Guide to composting in Greater Washington, D.C. Compost or else… (2019, November 7). Retrieved June 15, 2022, from http://www.compostorelse.com/compost-dc/
Henry, A. J. (2022, April 29). Public curbside composting? it could soon become a reality in DC. wusa9.com. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://www.wusa9.com/article/tech/science/environment/public-curbside-composting-it-could-soon-be-a-reality-in-the-district/65-9d1527b9-fd9a-4f9b-8684-1d02fd7022a2
Home Composting Program. (n.d.). Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://dpw.dc.gov/page/home-composting-program
Seldman, N. (2017, October 3). Brief history of solid waste management and recycling in Washington, DC. Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Retrieved June 15, 2022, from https://ilsr.org/brief-history-of-solid-waste-management-and-recycling-in-washington-dc/
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