Peace Coffee is a big believer in understanding where our food comes from and the impacts of its production. But what about where our coffee grounds go? Thanks to local waste-reduction nonprofit Eureka Recycling, local restaurants and their customers (like you!) can now compost food scraps (and coffee grounds) instead of wasting them!

The energy saving benefits of recycling have been touted for years and most people understand the incredible energy savings and resource conservation that is achieved by recycling. For example, making a new aluminum can from old cans results in 90-97% energy savings compared to making a new can from bauxite and other raw materials. By contrast, the benefits of composting are just surfacing. Many people believe that food scraps and paper products in a landfill are harmless because they biodegrade. However, when food scraps are thrown in the trash, they contribute significantly to climate change. When these materials decompose in a landfill, they become powerful contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. When food waste and paper products decompose without oxygen in a landfill they produce methane, which has 23-71 times greater heat trapping capabilities than carbon dioxide. Landfills are the single largest direct human source of methane. Likewise, when they are burned in incinerators they contribute to emissions and pollution.

Composting is not only an alternative to wasting our food scraps, it is necessary to grow healthier food. When composted, food scraps and non-recyclable papers (like napkins and paper cups) create nutrient-rich soil that is in high demand to replenish our exhausted soils. Composting reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and greatly improves soil quality. Not to mention composting eliminates all of the methane gas that would be generated in landfills. (Backyard composting piles and well-run industrial compost operations produce negligible greenhouse gas emissions -- mostly from the operation of equipment which can be further reduced using alternative fuels like biodiesel). 

Not just for gardeners anymore
For years, Eureka Recycling has helped people compost at home in their backyards or in a worm bin. Last year, they turned their attention to restaurants and natural food co-ops, where the waste can is predominately full of food and paper-based food packaging. Their goal is to create more and more opportunities for folks to compost at home and on-the-go to reduce waste, and therefore their individual contributions to climate change. Peace Coffee partners Common Roots Cafe and Birchwood Cafe were among five restaurants that helped Eureka Recycling develop an extensive training program for the staff and education program for customers as part of their compost service. "What makes this composting program unique is its emphasis on education -- for my staff and for my customers," explains Tracy Singleton, owner of the Birchwood Cafe. "We’ve been educating our customers about where our food comes from at the Birchwood for over a decade. Now we have to opportunity to educate them about closing the loop -- from food to leftovers to dirt and back into food."

Since launching the program last fall, over a dozen Twin Cities restaurants now participate -- all listed on www.makedirtnotwaste.org. This spring, the Seward Co-op and the East Side Food Co-op have stepped forward as leaders to help Eureka Recycling expand the program to grocers. Dozens and dozens of restaurants are gearing up to join the program. "We couldn’t be more honored to work with partners who are so dedicated to showing that there is no waste and who are making a difference in our community," said Susan Hubbard, CEO, Eureka Recycling.

Restaurants and co-ops in the program are demonstrating Eureka Recycling’s mission -- that waste truly is preventable. On average, participants in the program are diverting over 90% of all their waste through recycling, composting, and changes to their purchasing habits. Behind these impressive numbers is an impressive impact: in less than 12 months, the program has reduced the equivalent carbon dioxide emission of taking 70 cars off the road for a year, proving that waste reduction strategies are some of the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective ways of reducing our impact on climate change. 

Start composting today!
An updated (and growing) list of composting restaurants is available on Eureka Recycling’s new composting website: www.makedirtnotwaste.org, along with a detailed report on the benefits of composting for climate change. Sign up for a composting workshop and start making dirt, not waste, at home! Restaurants, co-ops, and individuals who are interested in composting can also call Eureka Recycling at (651) 222-7678.

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