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POTSDAM COMMUNITY FOOD WASTE: EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, & PLANNING
POTSDAM COMMUNITY FOOD WASTE: EDUCATION, ENGAGEMENT, & PLANNING
Clarkson's Institute for a Sustainable Environment has been awarded a grant from the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute (NYSP2I) to work with the Potsdam Climate Smart Communities Task Force in order to develop a plan for a community-scale food waste management program here in Potsdam. This project aims to increase community awareness of food waste, as well as improving stakeholder engagement.
Funding for this project is provided by the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, which is sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Environmental Protection Fund, and led by Rochester Institute of Technology’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability
THE GOAL
THE GOAL
The project will educate and engage food waste generators ranging from the general public to large institutions; the municipal government; and area farmers and potential other participants who may be interested in organics recycling business opportunities such as composting or anaerobic digestion. The goal is to see a significant increase in individuals and businesses who are committed to supporting the implementation and use of a community-scale food waste management system and preliminary design of a system that could include both recovery and recycling components.
THE SYSTEM
THE SYSTEM
A system to better manage food wastes includes the generators of the waste, a mechanism to transport edible food and food scraps and food recovery and recycle facilities. The key concepts that drive this program include:
We waste approximately 40% of food from across the food production, sales and consumption chain
Most of the FW ends up in a landfill, whereas other solutions recover value from the "waste"
FOOD RECOVERY redirects edible food to food access programs that serve our area's food insecure
FOOD RECYCLING via composting or anaerobic digestion can create nutrient-rich soil amendments and biogas for energy
A Community-scale solution will benefit the area
New business opportunities for transporters/haulers to move food waste to a facility and compost of digester facilities
A means for large-scale generators to comply with a new New York law that requires them to recycle and recover
Increased "right sized" donations to support area food access programs
Current efforts will help to
Educate and engage the community in this conversation
Identify and design solution components that are best for our community
Reduce generation and landfill disposal of food waste
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