Green Business Solutions: Commercial Kitchen Food Scraps Recycling
Almost half of what we trash is compostable! To tackle this issue, the City of San Diego has commercial composting options and support available for businesses within the city. To learn more, join I Love A Clean San Diego and the City of San Diego on Wednesday, May 4th from 3 – 4 p.m. for a free Green Business Solutions webinar focused on Commercial Kitchen Food Scraps Recycling.
In this informational webinar, we will detail upcoming organic waste recycling regulations and how to meet requirements. We’ll also share best practices from local businesses who have implemented changes successfully.
Part One of this two-part webinar series will include:
The importance of food scrap recycling in commercial kitchens
Requirements for businesses to lower their waste production
Tools and strategies for successfully implementing a composting program through the City of San Diego’s Food Scraps Recycling Program
Q&A session with a City of San Diego Environmental Services representative
Thank you to the City of San Diego for sponsoring this webinar. Register to receive the Zoom link. We’ll see you there!
If you can’t attend the live event, we’ve got you covered! Register and we will send you a recording of the webinar.
To take full advantage of this program, join us on Wednesday, May 11th from 3-4pm for Part Two of this webinar series. This first event will detail how to reduce organic waste in commercial kitchens. Please note you will need to register separately for each event. Register for Part Two here.
Composting 101: A Beginners Guide to Successful Composting
Why is composting important? Composting allows you to create your own healthy soil for free. More than 40 percent of what is in the landfill could have been composted. You can keep that much waste out of the landfill by simply composting your organic matter or kitchen scraps.
Do’s and Don’ts
DO compost these items:
Fruits, Vegetables, Grains/Bread/Rice, Coffee Grounds/Filters, Tea bags, Nuts/Shells, Egg Shells, Pasta, Newspaper/Cardboard, Paper Bags, Leaves, Yard Trimmings, Dead Plants
Large items like avocado pits, root balls and oyster shells can be composted but may take quite a bit of extra time.
If you’re unsure on whether or not it can be composted, think in color…
GREENS – Materials that are moist or were recently growing are nutrient rich.
Fruits, veggies, coffee grounds, egg shells, etc.
Items from the garden that are still green such as grass clippings, weeds, plants.
BROWNS – Consists of dry or woody plant material.
Dry leaves, wood chips, straw.
Newspaper, paper bags, napkins
Compost Collection
Collect your food scraps in a pale, bucket or an enclosed compost collection bin to keep the smell enclosed. Check out the Solana Center Store for great composting items and ideas such as bins and thermometers.
Layer your collected food waste (Greens) in your compost bin with your Browns. You ideally want two parts Browns and one part Greens.
Keep your compost piles moist, with the consistency of a damp sponge and make sure there is some air flow.
Finished Product Tips:
Add your finished compost to any soil to enrich it with nutrients.
Add some to the top layer of soil in potted plants.
Use it as a nutrient enhancer for produce in the garden.
Add it to the base of your trees near the roots by digging small holes around the trunks and filling them with fresh composted soil.
Variations in Composting Bins
Find out what composting bin method is right for you, whether that’s vermicomposting or bokashi!
Green Business Solutions: Commercial Kitchen Food Scraps Recycling
Almost half of what we trash is compostable! To tackle this issue, the City of San Diego has commercial composting options and support available for businesses within the city. To learn more, join I Love A Clean San Diego and the City of San Diego on Wednesday, May 26th from 3 – 4 p.m. for a free Green Business Solutions webinar focused on Commercial Kitchen Food Scraps Recycling.
In this informational webinar, we will detail upcoming organics recycling regulations and how to meet requirements. We’ll also share best practices from local businesses who have implemented changes successfully.
Part Two of this two-part webinar series will include:
The importance of food scrap recycling in commercial kitchens
Requirements for businesses to lower their waste production
Tools and strategies for successfully implementing a composting program through the City of San Diego’s Food Scraps Recycling Program
Q&A session with a City of San Diego Environmental Services representative
Thank you to the City of San Diego for sponsoring this webinar. Register to receive the Zoom link. We’ll see you there!
If you can’t attend the live event, we’ve got you covered! Register and we will send you a recording of the webinar.
To take full advantage of this program, join us on Wednesday, May 19th from 3-4pm for Part One of this webinar series. This first event will detail how to reduce organic waste in commercial kitchens. Please note you will need to register separately for each event. Register for Part One here.
***This event has been filled. Please check the ILACSD calendar for future landfill tours. ***
People have been burying garbage since humans evolved, but have you ever wondered where your waste goes once thrown into the bin? This three-hour bus tour will give you a peek behind-the-scenes to find out what really happens when you throw your trash away and what “away” really means.
Join I Love A Clean San Diego to better understand how your daily actions impact the Miramar Landfill and the City of San Diego’s goal to reach zero waste by 2040. You will not only learn about the importance of zero waste, but also given the tools on how to get there. Additional stops include the Allan Company Recycling Facility, the Greenery and the Household Hazardous Waste Transfer Facility.
There are only 55 seats available, so book your spot by August 8th to ensure your opportunity to gain valuable knowledge about the Landfill. Seat priority will be given to City of San Diego residents. If you are out of the City limits, you will be placed on a waitlist and informed a few days prior to the tour if seats are available. As a safety precaution, please wear pants and close-toed shoes. A signed waiver will be required at the start of the tour. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The bus will pick attendees up in the parking lot at Metro Biosolids Center. Parking is available in the lot. Carpooling is encouraged.
This tour is made possible by the City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department and facilitated by I Love A Clean San Diego.
Join ILACSD as we team up with the City of Vista to bring you Save Your Scraps, an interactive workshop focused on zero waste and organics! Come learn what it means to live a zero waste life and more specifically, how to keep organic waste out of the landfill by shopping smart, storing food properly, and composting your scraps! Join us for this fun, informative workshop and participate in one of the hands-on activities including a ‘make and take’ project and an eco-friendly kids’ craft.
Make and Take: Vermicomposting Bins (compost with worms) while supplies last. Eco-Friendly Kids’ (or Adult) Craft: Decorate Produce Bags Raffle Prizes: Bamboo Food Scrap Bin and mini Zero Waste Kit (Stasher bag and reusable straw)
In addition, can bring in gently used items you were planning to donate and participate in the Swap ‘n’ Shop! Participants can exchange or donate those items by giving them a second life and keeping them out of the landfill. Some example items that have been brought to past workshops include clothes, nail polish, stereos, pet supplies, books, CD’s, picture frames, kitchenware, Halloween costumes, etc.
Open your Instagram account and click on the explore page, it won’t take too long for most of us to find images of vibrant, crunchy, creamy, steamy, buttered, drizzled, crystalized, smoky, aged, boiled, briny, cheesy, absolutely delightful images of what is on their plate! These days, foodie culture dominates social feeds. The farm to table movement is bigger than ever. We have never been so in tune and in love with what we are eating until now.
Documenting meals for online followers is a normal habit for foodies.
So with that, let’s imagine you just spent all afternoon preparing a pie for dinner guests. You’re are so pleased with the steaming, flaky pie that sits on the counter in front of you. It’s so aromatic and intense that you can recognize each type of fruit in the medley that is making your senses come alive! You cut it into 10 slices, making sure each one is piled high with perfectly candied pastry dough. You are almost ready to serve it to your guests, but before you even unveil it at the dinner table, before you even leave the kitchen, you scrape 4 pieces of pie directly into the garbage. It hits the trash can with a miserable thud, the amber colored gelatin is sliding down the plastic bag and the slices look more like your cat’s food than a guest-worthy dessert. While this might seem like an insane thing to do, it is a realistic picture of the amount of food being wasted in our society.
Sorry, what was I talking about? I am only thinking about pie now…
In the United States, 40% of food goes uneaten. The average Californian throws away 24 pounds of food a month.How can it be that in a time when we are so infatuated with our food, that we are wasting so much? Food waste occurs at many levels – at the farm, at the store, in our fridges, and off our plates. Farmers who grow produce that is considered too ugly, too small, too large, too uneven, or a little colorless are pushed out of the marketplace due to the retailer’s demand for consistency. Food is also lost in transportation. Food spoils in the store and in our refrigerators, but it’s not just food we are discarding without a second thought. We are squandering all of the resources that go into the production and distribution of food! Nationally, 80% of our water, 10% of our energy, and 40% of our land is utilized to grow our food. Despite all of the resources we put into the production of food, it is the leading material in our landfills! In the Miramar Landfill, 40% of the total waste is organic material that could have been mulched, composted, fed to animals, or in some cases, fed to people.
Realizing all of your food doesn’t have to be picture perfect is an easy way to prevent food from going to waste.
Our food systems are not perfect, but together each and every one of us can take a stand against food waste. Even small adjustments to our behavior can create impactful change! Here are a few simple suggestions to help you get started or continue your food waste prevention:
Shop Smart
Be prepared: create a shopping list with menus in mind to avoid impulse buys
Set a time frame: this gives you less time to buy things not on your prepared list
Know what you need: keep stock of what you have at home, note items as they run out to help create your shopping list
Be realistic: if you live alone or only need one carrot for a recipe, don’t buy a whole bag
Bulk is better: buying in bulk requires a little forethought and planning but is definitely worth it
Cut your costs: if you crunch the numbers, bulk purchases typically cost less per unit
Sensible Storage to Slow Spoiling
Practice first in, first out habits: move older products to the front of the fridge and stock unopened newer items in the back
Monitor what you throw away: throwing away half a loaf every week? Start freezing it.
Dates, not deadlines: know that expiration, best by, sell by, and use by dates, are not an exact science but merely manufacture suggestions
Leave a little room: don’t overcrowd your fridge, the air needs to circulate
Figure out your fridge’s compartments: your fridge has a crisper for a reason and the fridge door is warmer than the shelves
If you don’t know, ask: utilize the Alexa Save the Food skill to ask where and how you should store your items while unpacking groceries (like storing your asparagus cilantro, celery, carrots in water to make them last longer)
Creative Cooking
Use it up nights: designate one evening a week to focus on using up open items in your fridge
No tops or stems left behind: use every part of the produce you can – broccoli stems, beet tops, carrot tops, leave the skin on cucumbers, blend your smoothie with strawberry leaves on
Wilted doesn’t have to mean wasted: use your food up, wilted veggies can go into a stir-fry or soup, bruised fruit can be added to a smoothie or applesauce, old cheese rinds can make soups, juice pulp can be utilized numerous ways (bread, guacamole, power bites bars)
Serving, Snacking, and Sensing Satiation
Avoid over ordering: if you’re often ordering too much food, try splitting a meal with a friend or ordering smaller portions when out
Know your limit: don’t feel guilty if you don’t clean your plate as long as you save and store whatever is remaining
Leftovers tonight means lunch tomorrow: take your leftovers home or save anything you cooked but couldn’t finish (don’t forget your reusable containers for leftovers)
Smaller plate, smaller portions: we often over serve ourselves because the plate has room – a smaller plate can help you decrease the amount you dish up
Join ILACSD as we team up with the City of Encinitas to bring you another Zero Waste Workshop! On Saturday, May 5, 2018, we will be hosting the Zero Waste 101: On the Go Workshop from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the EUSD Farm Lab located at 441 Quail Gardens Road, Encinitas, CA 92024. The event is completely FREE and open to the public. This is the final installment of a three-part series on sustainable living!
Come by and learn how to set yourself up for zero waste success while on the go! Visit educational booths, participate in one of the hands-on activities, and bring in gently used items you were planning to donate and participate in the Swap ‘n’ Shop! Swap ‘n’ Shop participants can exchange or donate those items giving them a second life and keeping them out of the landfill. Make sure to stick around for our raffle where you have the opportunity to win sustainable prizes that will help with your zero waste journey!
Get registered today to reserve your spot! We hope to see you there!
Join ILACSD as we team up with the City of Encinitas to bring you another Zero Waste Workshop! On Saturday, March 3, 2018, we will be hosting the Zero Waste 101: Organics Workshop from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM at the EUSD Farm Lab located at 441 Quail Gardens Road, Encinitas, CA 92024. The event is completely FREE and open to the public. This is the second installment of a three-part zero waste series.
Learn how to keep organics out of the landfill by shopping smart, storing food properly, and composting your food scraps. This workshop will also cover water conservation tools, such as ocean-friendly gardens and laundry-to-landscape systems. Participate in one of the hands-on activities that will be available for all ages, including a kids craft and a make-and-take vermicomposting bin! Bring in gently used items you were planning to donate and participate in the Swap ‘n’ Shop! Swap ‘n’ Shop participants can exchange or donate those items giving them a second life and keeping them out of the landfill. Make sure to stick around for our raffle where you have the opportunity to win sustainable prizes that will help with your zero waste journey!
At the end of the workshop, 25 participants will have the opportunity to create and take home a fully-functioning vermicomposting bin (composting with worms). Please indicate your interest on the registration form. Participants will be added on a first come, first serve basis. Due to supply restrictions, we are limited to 25 participants. Please limit one per household.
Get registered today to reserve your spot! We hope to see you there!
At I Love A Clean San Diego, we work to lead and inspire our community to actively conserve and enhance the environment so that our children can enjoy this beautiful region for future generations to come. That’s why we believe in engaging with local schools to instill in them environmental values and habits at an early age.
Did you know that the average elementary school student drinks 133 servings of milk or juice per year? For the average elementary school, that means students consume approximately 75,000 carton beverages per year – that means more than 6 billion cartons are consumed in schools every year!
With carton recycling now available in over 60% of the country, including San Diego, we want to spread the word that you can recycle your cartons and help everyone improve their recycling habits.
Congratulations to Teirrasanta and Cherokee Point Elementary schools for leading by example. Take a look at the great work they’ve already done:
Tierrasanta Elementary won the San Diego Unified School District’s Most-Improved Recycling Award for 2016-17 by boosting their recycling diversion from 10% to 25% (by weight) over the course of just one school year. Through increased classroom recycling efforts as well as lunchtime recycling of cartons, lunch trays, and other recyclables, Tierrasanta students were able to reduce trash service, dramatically improve recycling rates, and save the school money.
Tierrasanta students use a helpful recycling station set up to stay mindful of what goes where when lunchtime ends!
Diverting 95% of all lunchtime waste is an extraordinary feat, and that’s exactly what Cherokee Point Elementary of San Diego Unified School District accomplished last school year. Students and staff joined together to ensure liquids, cartons, lunch trays, and food scraps were kept out of the trash and out of our landfills. The school’s Green Team students encouraged other students to properly sort their waste and take on litter pickup to keep campus clean.
Cherokee Point Elementary’s Green Team helped students sort their garbage leading to a 95% diversion of lunchtime waste!
School recycling programs not only encourage children to learn about the importance of recycling, but they also enable communities to recover large quantities of valuable materials, like beverage cartons. To start or enhance carton recycling efforts at your or your child’s school in San Diego, visit cartonopportunities.org. Our partner, Carton Council, has created materials specifically to help parents, teachers, and administrators get started.
When it comes to going zero waste, composting often seems to be one the most intimidating step to take. Yes, composting definitely requires more time up front compared to swapping out single-use items for reusable options, but the process is not nearly as time consuming or scary as you might imagine. To help ease any fears that might still have you feeling hesitant, some of the ILACSD team is giving you a look into their own experiences with composting for the first time!
Emily showing Lauren and Moriah how to make their own vermicomposting bin!
But let’s get started with a review of some basics when it comes to composting. Composting is the process of converting food scraps and yard waste into compost, an organic, nutrient-rich alternative to fertilizer in your garden or your potted plants. According to the Center for Sustainable Energy’s Equinox Project, organic waste makes up one-third of the waste in San Diego’s landfills. By composting, we can divert organic waste from landfills where it can release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
In the I Love A Clean San Diego office, we have multiple team members who collect food waste to be brought back to their composting bins. This past June, Moriah and Lauren made their vermicomposting bins and began their own composting journeys! With a few simple tools, we enjoyed time in the sun making the bins and learning all the details of vermicomposting!
Both Moriah and Lauren have been using their vermicomposting bins about a month now. With that experience under their belt, we checked back in to see how the process has been going. Lauren explained, “I have to say it’s intimidating to have another thing to take care of in my household, but the simplicity and beauty of this natural process are what astonishes me the most, day after day.” Moriah shared how having Emily – our Education Manager and composting expert – in our office as a resource impacted her experience:
“Having Emily as a resource has been super helpful. She has even responded to Snapchats I’ve sent to her of the bin to let me know if it looks like it is healthy and thriving. Emily’s help and the resources in our office have led to a pretty healthy bin. The worms are breeding and eating everything much quicker than I expected!”
Worms for the vermicomposting bins!
With a flourishing, healthy bin, Moriah has been able to show off her composting skills with her friends and family. By passing along her knowledge and story, she is creating a community she can be a resource for when it comes to vermicomposting.
“Whenever I have people over, I get to be the “worm girl,” showing off the bin and talking about how easy it has been to set up. They are always amazed that it doesn’t smell, that it’s small, and by all the things the worms eat. When we hosted a 4th of July party, people had fun (I think) digging in the bin to give the worms their watermelon rinds. Friends have even given me their rotten vegetables to put in the bin, saving those from going to the landfill.”
Composting does not have to be the unbeatable zero waste giant some imagine it to be. Finding your community, ask questions, and just taking the first step is really all it takes! So why wait? Start your own composting journey today!
