California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)

Food Scrap Management

Food Scrap Case Studies

Food Scrap Diversion

The City of San Diego hosts a commercial food scrap composting program at the Miramar Greenery. Some of the large venues participating in the program have realized not only a greater diversion rate but an additional significant cost saving in waste hauling and tipping fees. Participants include the City’s international airport, convention center, baseball stadium, Sea World Park, university campuses, military facilities, and hotels. A summary of these case studies is featured on the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department’s website.

The City of San Francisco Recycling Program implemented food scrap collection programs at five local schools. The four participating elementary schools diverted a total of 1700 pounds of organic waste per week. The fifth school, a private high school, was able to reduce the number of bins used for collection by 50 percent. With the help of the program's subcontractor, each of the schools designed a food scrap program that encompassed education, outreach, organics collection for offsite composting, and some vermicomposting.
Final report (PDF, 113 KB)

The Davis Joint Unified School District piloted comprehensive food waste diversion projects at three elementary schools. Two schools reduced their total waste stream by at least 40 percent. The third school has the potential to decrease its waste stream by 20 percent if the program continues. The programs included: a switch to the "offer versus serve" method to serve food, food rescue efforts, recycling, and the collection of organic waste for on-site composting and vermicomposting systems. The contract accomplished the goals of integrating the composting and vermicomposting systems into the school garden program, as part of a larger farm-to-school vision.
Final report (PDF, 168 KB)

The West Contra Costa Integrated Waste Management Authority and one elementary school piloted a food scraps reduction program that included extensive recycling training. The program involved the separation of lunch waste materials in the cafeteria for offsite composting; the experimental use of biodegradable utensils, and some recycling of aluminum lunch trays. Unfortunately, although the school cafeteria was able to reduce its waste up to 40 percent, the program was not continued into the next school year.
Final report (Adobe PDF, 2.2 MB)

The Santa Cruz County Department of Public Works, in partnership with the California Grey Bears and Organic Recyclers Anonymous, set up two Earth Tub™ in-vessel composting systems at the California Grey Bears’ food bank in Santa Cruz. Earth Tubs™ are a mid-scale composting option, appropriate for grocery stores, restaurants, and institutions generating 50 or more pounds of food scraps per day. The program diverted over 11 tons of food scraps from the landfill and it is projected that 28.91 tons could be diverted annually. As an added benefit, the compost that was generated from the Earth Tubs™ was made available for volunteers to use and as a salable item for the facility. Final report (PDF, 673 KB)

The City of Indian Wells, in coordination with the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens and EcoNomics, Inc., piloted a food scrap diversion program at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens. Food scraps were collected for offsite composting, and the finished compost was used at the Tennis Gardens. The project provided data on the costs, benefits, diversion potential, and viability of a very large-scale food scrap diversion program. This facility is located on 189 acres and has stadium seating for more than 16,000 guests. In addition to the Tennis Masters Series (with an attendance in 2001 of more 190,000 for the two-week event), the project diverted food scraps from two additional events totaling more than eight tons. Food scrap diversion proved to be both feasible and economically viable.
Final report (PDF, 100 KB). Video: (Windows Media, 6 minutes)

Excerpts: Best Practices in Waste Reduction Video (posted October 2009)

Below are chapters 1, 11, and 12 from the 12-chapter video on Best Practices in Waste Reduction (WIndows Media Video: 1.12 Mbps). All chapters are on YouTube and our Video Central training page.

Reducing waste can save you money, conserve energy and resources, and reduce air, soil, and water pollution. The Best Practices in Waste Reduction video shows you real options for recycling, reducing, or reusing solid waste products. Helping promote California’s development of markets for recyclable materials is part of our mission. We can help you with technical, financial, and permitting assistance. Please feel free to contact CalRecycle's Office of Public Affairs for more information.

Waste Reduction Awards Program Winners

The Waste Reduction Awards Program (WRAP) provides an opportunity for California businesses and nonprofit organizations to gain public recognition for their outstanding waste reduction efforts and lets the community know your business takes waste reduction seriously. Many food service industry businesses have been recognized with WRAP awards.

For information on WRAP winners in the food service industry, search CalRecycle's WRAP database. Under "Business Type" choose "Manufacturing--Food/Beverage" or "Services--Food/Beverage."

Reuse Grant Recipients

CalRecycle educates and motivates people to approach material reuse as the first option in diverting unwanted materials from California landfills by offering a competitive grant program for local public agencies. For information on food scrap management Reuse Grant recipients, see this list of reuse organization profiles.

Additional Case Studies