As part of Zero Waste Vashon’s goal to reduce waste through the use of anaerobic digestion and compost, the organization will support a feasibility study at Strawberry Festival conducted by the company Impact Bioenergy to see how much food waste is generated.
Anaerobic digestion occurs when organic matter (food waste) is decomposed by bacteria. As the waste is decomposed, biogas — 60-70 percent methane and 30-40 percent carbon dioxide — is released. The methane gas can be recovered, treated and used to generate energy. The material remaining after decomposition is rich in nutrients to be used for planting. Impact Bioenergy Community Engagement Officer Srirup Kumar said the energy from one ton of food wate is equal to the energy from about one barrel of oil.
“One ton of average food waste generates about 5 million BTU’s, about the same as barrel of oil, and contains water, carbon and nutrients,” he said.
This weekend, Impact Bioenergy will collect food waste from voluntary, portable vendors through its partnering program: Community Supported Biocycling (CSB). Food waste pickups will generally occur around lunch and dinner times, as well as periodically throughout the day. Sealable, 5-gallon canisters will be provided for food waste only. A separate garbage team has been hired to collect other materials.
Zero Waste Vashon President Gib Dammann said CSB is interested in the possibility of an anaerobic digester on Vashon, but needs numbers and data about the waste generated.
Collection will begin on Saturday and continue through Sunday as two people using a zero-emission vehicle — an electric-powered cargo bike fueled by food waste — will take the canisters to an aggregation point to be taken to the Vashon Recycling and Transfer Station.
After the canisters are emptied, clean canisters will be picked up and returned to the vendors.
CSB will collect a sample to estimate how much food waste is thrown away at the event. The project is funded by a grant obtained by CSB from King County Solid Waste.
“The idea is to get all food waste collected and get a sampling so we can get vetted information,” Dammann said. “How much food waste is out there?”
For more information, visit impactbioenergy.com/csb.
