Organic waste reduction efforts in Elk Grove are part of worldwide effort
“Think Globally, Act Locally” is a slogan associated with environmentalism since the 1970s. By engaging in food recovery efforts and diverting organic waste from landfills, the city of Elk Grove and its residents are doing their part locally to contribute to the international effort to reduce methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming and other problems.
Evan Edgar is the principal engineer and president of Edgar & Associates, a Sacramento-based environmental engineering and advocacy company specializing in solid waste management, recycling, composting, and renewable energy issues. He is also a founder of lobbying organization the California Compost Coalition, and has been instrumental in directing and forming composting policy over the last three decades. His work has been critical in developing the thinking that led to SB 1383, the law that establishes California as a leader in the effort to reduce organic waste.
“At the landfill, organic waste breaks down under anaerobic conditions and creates methane,” Edgar explained. “Past studies claimed landfills captured 75% of those gasses, but some newer studies are showing landfills are super emitters of methane.
“Instead of creating an environmental disaster by overusing nitrate fertilizer, it certainly makes sense to replenish soil with the plants that were grown from that soil. It’s a process that has millions of years of proven effectiveness.”
Evan Edgar, President/Principal Engineer of Edgar & Associates
“Methane is important because it’s a short-lived climate pollutant,” he continued. “Over a 30-year span, when methane remains in the environment, it is about 75 to 82 times stronger than carbon dioxide. So when we put [organic waste] into the landfill, not only are the nutrients not recycled, but the gas is leaked for the next 30 years, which adds to climate change.”
In Elk Grove, businesses and residents are encouraged to place food waste in green bins along with other organic materials. This food waste is separated from other organic materials at the Elder Creek Transfer Station and recycled for a variety of purposes.
Edgar said closed-loop recycling efforts like these have massive benefits: “When we take organics out of the landfill and to an anaerobic digestion facility instead, we can capture [the methane], treat it, compress it and turn it into bio-methane fuel for transportation. We can put that fuel straight back into the same truck that collected the waste. We can make fuel from it in 30 days rather than have it leaking from the landfill for 30 years.”
Edgar said food that would otherwise rot in landfills has other beneficial uses. Food that is still edible may be served as healthy meals to people in need, while foodstuffs spoiled beyond use for that purpose can be composted and used to replenish soil. Compost is better for the environment than nitrate fertilizers, as the runoff from the latter can pollute waterways and have other detrimental effects. Soil amendments made from food waste and plants are designed to improve soil to produce stronger, healthier plants that often require less water to grow.
“Instead of creating an environmental disaster by overusing nitrate fertilizer, it certainly makes sense to replenish soil with the plants that were grown from that soil,” he said. “It’s a process that has millions of years of proven effectiveness.”
Edgar said that Elk Grove is teaming up with other regional partners, like Sacramento and Yolo counties, to develop coordinated plans for organic waste recovery and recycling. It’s an evolving effort in line with the time-tested environmental directive to act locally towards achieving global goals.
For more information about organic recycling and implementation of SB 1383 in the city of Elk Grove, go to www.elkgrovecity.org/recycling-and-waste/organic-recycling.
