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www.CTGreenGuide.com SprinG 2014 • Connecticut Green Guide 29 leGal Food Waste Recycling organic waste has value beyond waste-to-energy By Brian C. Freeman W ith Connecticut's recycling rate stuck around 25 percent for the past decade, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protec- tion wants to enlarge the recycled slice of the waste pie. In fact, DEEP is targeting pie…and stale cake, wilted vegeta- bles, and all manner of large-scale food waste. A DEEP study indicates nearly one-third of what is thrown away in Connecticut is compostable, and nearly half of that is food waste. Most food waste is sent to the state's waste-to-energy plants. It's not welcome there: With typically high-moisture content, food waste is a less-than-ideal fuel. Alternative options for large-scale food waste volumes are limited to a few composting facilities permitted to handle this material. As a result, DEEP's most recent Solid Waste Management Plan identi- fies food waste recycling facilities as the highest priority gap in its waste and recycling infrastructure. Enter the Connecticut General Assembly. In 2011, it passed DEEP-crafted legislation intended to catalyze de- velopment of a statewide infrastructure for food recycling by ensuring a sufficient supply of organic waste to feed recycling facilities. The legislation, as amended in 2013, requires as of Jan. 1, certain large-scale organic waste generators located within 20 miles of an authorized food waste composting facility must separate their organic waste and ensure it is recycled at any such facility. The generators subject to the law include each commercial food wholesaler or distributor, industrial food manufac- turer or processor, supermarket, resort, and conference center generating an average projected volume of at least 104 tons/year (2 tons/week) of organic waste. As of 2020, the volume threshold drops to 52 tons/year (1 ton/week). Although the legislation refers only to composting facilities, DEEP interprets this to include anaerobic di- gestion. (A quick primer: Composting relies on oxygen- dependent microbes to break down the organics into a rich, loam-like product desirable for various growing purposes. Anaerobic digestion uses oxygen-deprived tanks where anaerobic microbes break down the organ- ics to create methane gas to be burned for energy.) On the heels of the 2013 legislation, three commer- cial-scale organics recycling facilities are currently in the permitting or planning stage. Nutmeg Road Com- posting seeks DEEP permits for a composting facility in South Windsor. Quantum Biopower, a division of Supreme Forest Products, seeks DEEP permits for a pro- posed 40,000 tons/year anaerobic digestion facility in Southington. Turning Earth inpartnership with national waste-to-energy company Covanta Energy plans to develop a facility in central Connecticut featuring inte- grated anaerobic and composting operations. As businesses anticipate waste management regula- tion, or search for the next opportunity in sustainability, organics waste recycling is a fruitful place to look. Brian C. Freeman is a senior associate at Hartford law firm Robinson & Cole, focusing on air quality, climate change, and waste management/recycling issues. HBJ PHoTo | BRAD KAne The Experts