The US EPA recently announced 2016 Food Recovery Challenge Award Winners in New England. Organizations that participate in the Food Recovery Challenge pledge to improve their sustainable food management practices and report their results. In 2015, 54 New England participants diverted over 52,000 tons of food to donation and/or composting. The EPA is presenting a…
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) is accepting grant applications through the Commonwealth Organics-to-Energy Program. The grant applications are for “Pilot” and “Implementation” projects. These projects are to support the use of anaerobic digestion and other technologies that convert source-separated organic waste into electricity, thermal energy, and compressed natural gas fuel. Qualified applicants can receive…
A Co.Exist post describes the new “Food For All,” app supporting the reduction of wasted food at restaurants. Through the app, customers can purchase discount goods from the restaurants. Currently, 30 Boston restaurants are participating in the pilot release of the app. Restaurants are still able to donate to the food banks, yet the app…
This month, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) awarded $500,000 in grants through the Recycling Business Development Grant (RBDG) program. These awards went to three companies looking to better process and manage packaged food materials. The awardees include EL Harvey and Sons, Inc. in Westborough, CRMC Bioenergy, LLC in Mansfield, and Troiano Trucking, Inc.…
Green Retail Decisions recognizes Hannaford Supermarket’s savings with Manomet’s Grocery Stewardship Certification program. This certification helped Hannaford Supermarkets save more than $23 million in 2015. The Manomet Grocery Stewardship Certification (GSC) program provides resources for food retailers to optimize operational sustainability, including practices to increase energy efficiency and reduce waste. Hannaford Supermarkets used the GSC…
This fall, several facilities in Massachusetts are starting to accept packaged food material for depackaging. These facilities have installed infrastructure to separate food material from its packaging allowing the wasted food to be fed into an anaerobic digester, composted, or used to produce animal feed. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) list of organizations…
The US Environmental Protection Agency added a webpage designated for information regarding Anaerobic Digestion (AD). This webpage is to provide information to the public such as basic information, environmental benefits, types of anaerobic digesters, project profiles, tools and resources, and publications. The links on the webpage also include more detailed information and other relevant programs.…
The Healthy Building Network and StopWaste released the “Optimizing Recycling: Post-Consumer Polyethylene in Building Products” report. This report examines the hazards, supply chains, and economic impacts of using post-consumer polyethylene from products such as beverage containers as a feedstock streams for building products. The report outlines recommendations for manufacturers, recyclers, consumers, and government agencies to…
A recent Zero Waste Zone post describes a new partnership between the U.S. Green Business Council (USGBC) and the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC). The U.S. Green Business Council administers the LEED certification program which recognizes buildings for their sustainable building design, construction, operations, and maintenance. The U.S. Zero Waste Business Council offers a…
The Harvard Law School and Food For Free are partnering to reduce wasted food and distribute it to feed hungry people. Food for Free, a Cambridge nonprofit, rescues the excess food and distributes it to the area’s hungry. This partnership began with the Harvard Law School May 2016 Commencement lunch where Food for Free recovered…
