California’s Composting Future
Composting has always been hip, but now it’s the hottest trend in the state. New state regulations are encouraging more composting than ever. Cold Creek Compost has happily offered nearby counties cutting-edge composting services for decades, and continues to be one of the few facilities permitted to handle food waste, a huge part of California’s waste stream. Thanks to Cold Creek Compost, Mendocino County and the surrounding areas are well-positioned to meet the state’s new requirements and help the state in its fight against climate change. For in-depth reading and visuals, see
SF Chronicle’s Special Report.
Food Waste, Landfills,and Greenhouse Emissions
Reducing food waste is one of the most effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Not only that, food waste is the number 1 contributor to landfills! So if you aren’t going to finish your plate, at least do your best to make sure your leftovers end up at a compost facility like ours. Few can boast a 99% recovery rate like Cold Creek Compost. That means 99% of what comes to our facility goes back out into the world as a useable product. See more in this infographic from Waste 360.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Reduce, reuse, then recycle. It’s important to remember to follow these guidelines in that order. As much as we love composting your food waste here at Cold Creek Compost, we want to remind you that it’s even better if your food scraps never make it to the garbage can at all.
A huge portion of America’s food waste is perfectly good food that just couldn’t find a hungry mouth to feed before it ended up in the trash. We’ve stumbled across a few apps, aimed at businesses as well as families, that can help reduce the amount of food that gets thrown out. These apps help make the most of our food, and one was even developed by a seventh-grader! Check it out at waste360.com.
Below: Happy Holidays from Cold Creek, but don’t let your Christmas leftovers go to waste!
Interview with Martin Mileck on KZYX
Cold Creek is in the news! KZYX featured a story on the recent move by Willits to compost food waste and included an interview with Cold Creek’s owner Martin Mileck. The program highlights Cold Creek’s ongoing work to develop the recycling and composting industry so that more waste can be diverted from landfills. Cold Creek, with the help of public pressure, has helped change the waste paradigm in Mendocino County, where food waste composting is steadily becoming the norm.
Oh, and sorry we’re late, but Happy Fourth of July!
Composting Food Waste
In a recent report, the EPA found that 21% of the municipal waste stream in the US is made up of food waste. That’s the largest segment of all waste types generated, greater than paper and even plastic! Luckily, the composting of food waste is a steadily growing practice in much of the developed world. India’s capital city of New Delhi has recently implemented a technological initiative to recycle its food waste. However, many California municipalities are behind the times. If India can do it, so can we! Cold Creek is working hard with local governments to develop food recycling programs in Mendocino and neighboring counties.
See the EPA report: www.epa.gov
Read more about New Delhi’s program: www.iamin.in
Image courtesy of epa.gov
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Cold Creek Compost is proud to be featured in the children's book Composting Abbie, a tale of how a whale can be composted, and how a tragedy can be turned into an opportunity.
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