IV. SUMMARY of LEARNING / NEXT STEPS:

The three main objectives of the project were to:

• Setup a working demonstration food scrap compost site at CNC.
  
  
• Conduct a 3-day workshop teaching the technical aspects of operating a food scrap compost.
  
  
• Directly contact individuals, organizations and businesses that could benefit from large-scale food scrap composting to encourage their future involvement.

The site is up and running smoothly however not at a profit yet therefore in the next step the CNC will be scaling up the operation to approximately 14 tons per week, a 3 fold increase and the legal limit under its current NYS permit. Markets need to be explored for selling the bagged product which is the most lucrative market in spite of the expense of bagging. The roadways to the composting site also need to be improved.

The 3-day course itself went well and by the evaluations can be considered a success in teaching the technical aspects of operating a food scrap compost site. The last objective of establishing a network of individuals who can benefit by becoming involved in composting also was successful. People in the Tompkins County region are more aware of the process and benefits of food scrap composting. However the final objective of these forms of education and outreach was to increase the amount of food scraps composted in New York State. There are 3 reasons why this is still an unknown:

1. The contract for this project was awarded in June 1998. At nearly the same time New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) granted the CNC a variance to the NYCRR part 360 regulations. These regulations govern how compost sites must function in New York State in order to obtain operating permits. Up until just after the project was initiated, NYS DEC issued occasional variances to these regulations for some small food scrap composting sites if it could be determined that the risk of pathogen and heavy metal migration from them to any watershed was minimal. For small sites, such as the CNC's there is very little risk of leachate run off. Variances excuse small facilities from the exhaustive and costly site engineering and site preparation requirements needed for larger site or sites composting items other than food scrap to obtain permits. The CNC variance allowed up to 1000 cubic yards of food scraps annually. A hand full of other sites across NYS were also granted variances to these regulations at the same time as CNC however, this was the last group allowed until NYS DEC issues new regulations governing food scrap composting, possibly sometime in 2000. As of this date those regulations still await issuance. The level of anticipated income from facilities as small as the one at CNC do not warrant their operators making the large investments needed to obtain full NYS DEC part 360 permits. Therefore, with no new variances being issued, very little new small scale food scrap composting capacity has come on line since the project began.

2. Secondly, it is important for the acceptance of an idea like composting of food scraps, for the economics to be favorable and indeed when this grant was proposed, the tipping fee at the landfill where Ithaca refuse is taken was approximately $60.00/ton. Soon after this project began, the tipping fee dropped to an average of $45.00/ton a $15.00/ ton difference. This meant that food scrap producers realized less of an annual savings by composting which lowered the incentive to initiate participation with a composting operation. This too could shift back upward over time making composting of food waste more financially beneficial.

3. There is no plan for a long-term follow up of the course participants. Incorporating food scraps into a composting operation takes time, planning and funds. It would not be expected that in the 20 months of this grant that a new food scrap composting facility would be up and functioning. A follow up in the summer of 2000 or 2001 would be a better indicator.

There are indications that when the regulatory and economic climates are favorable, that Tompkins County will see more food scrap composting occur. Eddy Dale Farms, Ecovillage, T'burg Tilapia, and George Hewertson are all in the process of planning food scrap composting sites. Time will tell whether they actually come to fruition. An increase in technical assistance to businesses will also help them to accomplish the steps needed to safely run a composting site. This continued effort at education and outreach can be provided through Cayuga Nature Center or other similar organizations with an interest in seeing an increase in food scraps being composted. The appropriate organizations in Tompkins Co. include Cooperative Extension, Soil and Water Conservation Service and Cornell Waste Management Institute. However education alone not help a composting effort that is marginally profitable become profitable. Either the incomes from composting need to exceed expenses or there need to be regulations or incentives to have more food scraps be composted. Offering breaks on water bills for businesses that are composting rather than using garbage disposals, partial funding to bridge the gap between expenses and incomes for composting sites especially during these times of low tipping fees, and regulations such as those that govern recycling efforts which would require that a percentage of food waste be composted would all help encourage the evolution of the composting industry.

Currently, tons of food waste goes into kitchen garbage disposals at large institutions and restaurants in the Ithaca area. If new regulations were put in place restricting the use of garbage disposals for large quantities of food waste there would then be an incentive to send this food to composting sites. Using tax supported wastewater treatment plants to dispose of food waste is a huge deterrent for cooperating with composting sites and an expense to municipalities which sponsor the practice.

Small composting sites do not generate a lot of income as a sole business however tipping fees and marketing income for the finished compost can be an additional revenue stream for an existing business. Before setting out to launch a food scrap composting site the economics should be analyzed to minimize expenses. A good site would have equipment particularly a loader, truck and tractor. A free source of bulking agent and carbon is essential. A proper site with available land which has the proper grade, drainage and shielding from neighbors is important as is its proximity to an urban population. Finally, it is helpful to have an established market for the finished compost.