The Williamstown COOL Committee, the town’s environmental group, launched a successful food waste diversion initiative as a part of their work plan for 2018. The COOL Committee collaborated with RecyclingWorks in assisting local businesses and institutions to begin composting their food scraps. Williamstown is currently home to more than 30 small-scale businesses that are collectively…
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is currently accepting applications for its Agricultural Composting Improvement Program (ACIP). The program assists agricultural composters by funding projects and equipment to facilitate best management practices, utilize compost for agricultural purposes, and enhance overall management of agricultural composting operations. Eligible applicants include farmers engaged in production agriculture for commercial…
The Daily Item recently reported on actions being taken by Massachusetts businesses, institutions, and charitable organizations to reduce food waste in their communities. In many cases, these entities are working together to find synergies in reducing the amount of waste they produce, donating excess food, or diverting food scraps to other uses such as composting.…
CDRecycler recently reported on the sustainability achievements and lessons learned during the 2017 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world’s largest conference and exposition dedicated to green building. Usually hosted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center (BCEC), in 2017, Greenbuild was co-located with the ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX),…
Saus is a locally-owned eatery on Union Street in Boston, specializing in preparing inspired dishes from scratch. The restaurant serves a constantly changing menu, but prides itself on one regular staple: hand-cut fries complemented by 15 unique sauces, as well as homemade mayo, ketchup, hot sauce, and gravy. Saus was recognized by Boston Magazine, receiving…
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded nearly $1 million in Recycling Business Development Grants (RBDG) to six recycling companies in the state. The RBDG program helps businesses tackle difficult-to-recycle materials, such as contaminated food materials, construction and demolition wood, and bulky rigid plastics. The funds will help these businesses expand their operations and…
A recent Waste Dive article discusses the growth of the food recovery marketplace in Massachusetts, including expansion in tons of diverted food waste, quantity of customers served by organics waste haulers, and number of end-sites available for processing food waste. This article was based on a presentation by MassDEP at its Organics Subcommittee meeting held…
In July, BioCycle published a guide to pretreatment of on-site food waste equipment and systems. The article describes three broad categories of equipment: Dehydrators utilize thermal processes to evaporate the liquid present in food waste. Liquefiers use water and enzymes/microbes to reduce the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and create wastewater that is usually discharged to…
The Martha’s Vineyard commercial organic waste diversion program will continue after its first year as the island community attempts to develop a local and sustainable system for waste reduction. The Vineyard Gazette details the findings and recommendations of the Island Wide Organics Feasibility Study, which began as the project of Martha’s Vineyard Vision Fellow Sophie…
Infinite Herbs and Specialties is a distributor of culinary herbs. Their packaging facility in Everett trims, packages, and ships herbs received in bulk from their production facilities. Infinite Herbs worked with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and RecyclingWorks in MA to set up organics collection to comply with the Commercial Food Waste Disposal Ban.…
