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EBOM-2009 MRc7:Solid Waste Management—Ongoing Consumables

Food Waste Diversion

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Alexa Stone
ecoPreserve: Building Sustainability
LEEDuser Basic Member
101 thumbs up

Hi All, I was surprised not to find this in a previous post but I'm glad im bringing it up as it is getting to be a popular item. Has anyone had experience any High Volume Food Decomposition systems a.k.a digesters? The machines combine heat, water, and biodegradable micro organisms to process all types of food waste and turn it in to a small discharge of gray water that is discharged into the wastewater line. Test show no harm to water quality. So with that aside...my question is, would LEED EBOM treat this method of disposal as Waste Diversion which is defined as "a management activity that disposes of waste other than through incineration or the use of landfills. Could it count towards the Ongoing Consumables credit? I had recently heard of GBCI denying this as a strategy at another entertainment and hospitality facility but I do not understand why they would. Thanks! look forward to the feedback!

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Profile picture for user emilycatacchio
Emily Catacchio
Sustainability Specialist
Wight and Company
LEEDuser Basic Member
415 thumbs up

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 20:03

I would guess that if you're contributing to the wastewater you're producing then it would not meet the intent of this credit. Why not compost and create a usable product as the outcome?

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 20:18

Another factor is the load that food waste puts on the wastewater treatment facility. Composting would be great and there are a lot options you can do. There maybe a community garden that would like your food scraps, a composter on site could provide compost to employees or even farmers. I do want to encourage your project. The EPA has statistics that show food waste is around 14% of the US's solid waste. Great photo, by the way.

Thu, 04/05/2012 - 22:01

I don't think this would fly either, because a) there's no useful product at they end as their would be with recycling or composting as Emily notes, b) it seems a little unlikely to me that there wouldn't be a water quality issue - what about nutrient loading from pushing all that added organic matter into the wastewater system -what water quality tests were performed, and c) other than not taking up land area, it's unclear that this strategy is less energy, pollution, water intensive then sending waste to landfill (e.g., does this produce methane?).

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