The City of Roses Recycling and Disposal’s (COR) partnerships with the Timbers, Thorns, and recently the Blazers, means all that waste that accumulates in our local sports venues is getting a second look. On-site recycling and reduction of one-time-use products are slowly taking hold, and COR is doing amazing work hauling those recyclables to our Material Recovery Facility to be repurposed. But a segment of the waste stream remains—food. 

Sports fans have big appetites as the walls of concessionaires at stadiums prove. Food, both in the kitchen and prep areas (known as Behind the House), and out in the stadiums (known as Front of the House) is everywhere. For now, it is impractical to focus on changing the habits of patrons in the FOH to separate food from containers for disposal, but back-of-house (BOH) operations are ready to take on the challenge. At the end of the night, the food that was made but not purchased can now be tossed in a separate container designated for composting. Many Oregonians are quite familiar with composting at home, and this is the same idea just on a much grander scale. 

Composting in such large quantities cannot be processed on-site so COR and their partners are working with Annen Brothers, Inc. in Mt. Angel, to turn all that food waste into usable compost. 

Since food is organic and breaks down it may seem that having it in a landfill is not problematic. However, organic waste undergoes anaerobic decomposition when it’s in the landfill, and that process produces methane. Methane, when released into the atmosphere is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, the other greenhouse gas we strive to reduce. Food waste does not just make the trash heaps smell worse, it is putting dangerous gases into the air. 

The other problem with letting food waste go to landfills is that we miss out on the potential benefits. Organic matter can be converted to compost, fertilizers, soil, and other products used to produce energy or fuel. The downside of turning those burgers and hot dogs, coffee grounds, and stale beer into compost is that the process can easily take months and require large open spaces.

Annen Brothers was no stranger to these problems. For years, the company composted all the waste from the hop farms that dot the landscape in Newberg and surrounding towns. All the parts of the hops that were not useful, were left in piles within Annen Brothers’ fields, to naturally break down. Looking for a more efficient and quicker system, the company began working with Salem-based Stettler Supply, an irrigation system contractor. The goal was to find a composting system that required a small area of land, but one that could hold large volumes, and be convenient for trucks to pick up the material and take it back to Annen Brother’s processing facility. 

Green Mountain Technologies had the solution through its Turned Aerated Pile System (GMT TAP). In this design, organic waste is placed on a concrete pad that has aeration pipes installed underneath. Nozzles from the pipes are on the surface of the pad and distribute high-velocity airflow to aerate the waste pile, which can reach 9 feet tall.  Temperature probes control the speed of the air. By using the pad, loaders and manure spreaders can easily drive on the surface to turn and water the waste piles to keep them biologically active.   and push the piles of waste closer together as the composting process proceeds. The end product, useable organic compost, is stored either under vinyl covers made from recycled billboards or within a small metal building until it is used. 

Collecting all that food waste has the potential to create lots of compost which can then be used to fertilize all those hop fields, or for the many hazelnut groves, or really for just about any crop that Oregon grows, and there are hundreds of them. By turning food waste into compost, which helps things grow, a full closed-loop waste system is achieved. One producer’s waste becomes another’s resource. 

Composting food waste from stadiums is not simple or inexpensive, but the return on investment can be great. Turning to composting helps reduce waste, keep toxic gases out of the atmosphere, and sustain our fragile environment. That benefit is obvious, but the positives go even further through the creation of more jobs and an atmosphere of cooperation across the companies that participate. 

At COR we believe anytime we find a way to divert waste from landfills we are creating cleaner and safer neighborhoods and as neighborhoods improve a more equal society grows. As we take on this new project and work to put Portland on the map as a leader in waste reduction, we welcome you to contact us to learn more. We can’t wait to get started.