O-Town Compost launches food waste collection service in Gainesville
Press release from O-Town Compost
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – O-Town Compost is excited to announce the launch of its convenient, odor- and pest-free food waste collection service in Gainesville. As a Food Waste Collector registered with the City of Gainesville, O-Town Compost will offer commercial establishments and multi-family properties the service needed for them to comply with the City’s food waste ordinances passed in July 2022.
“Diverting food waste for composting instead of disposal in the landfill is a significant part of the City of Gainesville’s Zero Waste Initiative. Our mission is to reduce the amount of food waste going to the landfill and make nutrient-rich compost to support this community and its local food systems,” said Richard Devereaux, Gainesville General Manager of O-Town Compost.
O-Town Compost expects to begin distribution of its collection bins to its commercial establishment and multi-family property partners beginning October 1, 2024, with regular collection routes scheduled to commence immediately thereafter. The food waste that O-Town Compost collects will be transported to Gaston Mulch & Soil’s Gainesville composting site for processing into soil amendment.
O-Town Compost was founded by Charlie Pioli in Orlando in 2020. An ex-waste industry consultant, Charlie had two missions in mind: to reduce food waste going to Central Florida’s landfills while supporting local soil health.
To date, O-Town Compost has diverted nearly 5 million pounds of food waste from the landfill, serving 1,000 businesses and residents. Gaston Mulch & Soil and O-Town Compost currently collaborate in Orange County, FL to compost 150 tons of food waste per month from the Orlando area.
This has been made possible with local farm partners who work to process organic waste into soil amendment, which in turn is used on their farms to increase yields and fertility.
I’m not sure that this is a great idea. How long does it take for all of the pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc. to break down? It seems that this only serves to drastically compound the amounts of these chemicals in our food supply.
Not to mention the added costs this ordinance requires for restaurants that are already struggling in this economy – leading to higher prices for all of us.
This appears to be an ordinance that benefits one company and hits everyone else in the pocketbook.
Yes, very good point.
At some point Alachua taxpayers are going to have to bear the financial burden of permitting another landfill to accept the mountain of trash our society produces, and methane emissions that continue to warm the planet. If we continue to take the short-term approach, we won’t be resilient to the inevitable changes the occur.
Municipal solid waste landfills are the 3rd largest source of harmful methane emissions from human activities in the USA. Food waste (40 million tons in 2020) makes up about 24% of solid waste disposed of in landfills. Wasting food in the USA causes greenhouse gas emissions equal to that of more than 50 million gas-powered passenger vehicles. Diverting food waste from landfills is an effective way to reduce methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills. (Source: US Environmental Protection Agency)