Did you know about 14% of Onondaga County’s waste stream is food waste?
OCRRA wants to recycle a portion of that through food waste composting.

History

In March 2007, OCRRA began a pilot food waste composting project by collecting pre-consumer food wastes from the New York State Fair and other area zero waste events in the County.

In December 2008 OCRRA converted from windrow composting to extended aerated static pile composting. This pilot project is testing the technical and economic feasibility of composting pre-consumer food waste from County businesses and institutions. The goal is to compost over 18,000 cubic yards of food waste per year by the year 2015.

 

What OCRRA Composts

The food waste collected for the pilot project is pre-consumer food waste. Pre-consumer food waste is usually generated during meal preparation at large institutions or at grocery stores.

If you are a commercial or institutional food waste generator interested in food waste composting, click here to learn what items are acceptable in OCRRA's program,

What Happens to the Food Waste

The food waste is mixed at a 3 to 1 ratio with a bulking agent (yard waste and wood chips) and is placed into extended aerated static piles with piping and blowers. The pipes allow air to circulate through the piles and create optimal conditions for decomposition. After the food waste has decomposed and has met all of the temperature and monitoring requirements, the finished compost is screened for use as a soil amendment. This composting process is considered a form of waste recycling.

If you are interested in utilizing our compost and are a resident of Onondaga County it is available at both our Amboy and Jamesville Compost Sites with the purchase of a $10.00 pass.