Benefits of Restaurant Composting

Mario Goss

April 19, 2021

HSC 4730

Amber Barnes
 Abstract

Landfills are one of the most common and most utilized method of disposal; in addition,

the production of greenhouse gases like methane cause a detriment to our environments and

habitats. (Department of Health, 2019) Through many years of insufficient disposal we have

accumulated an unfathomable amount of waste. I have been awarded $100,000 to utilize in my

efforts to establish a professional, factual as well as efficient cross-sectional study that will span

over a year’s time to examine other, more sustainable methods of disposal. Composting being

one of the most cyclic methods of disposal of organics aims to replenish the soil, convert

essential nutrients naturally as well as act a soil conditioner. (Goldstein, 1996) These processes

enable us to limit the amount of greenhouse gases as well as provides a means of sustainable soil

to put back into our environments.

 Narrative

Globally, we are hoarding a progressive amount of waste and there are many aspects

applying to this topic that could be broadly addressed; subsequently, a more narrow focus of

food waste and its effects on greenhouse gas emissions from landfills. Greenhouse gases like

methane and carbon dioxide are pumped out of these landfills, placing extreme pressure on our

ozone as well as disabling it from releasing trapped heat by displacing oxygen. (Department of

Health, 2019) Not only are toxic gases released into the atmosphere when methane producing

bacteria decompose the waste and generate methane, runoff called “leachate” that forms when

landfill waste breaks down and rain filters through that waste and picks up toxins can increase

the risk of adverse health effects in neighboring communities. “Landfill leachate forms via

decomposition of putrescible and organic fractions of landfill material transported by water

percolating through the soil profile.” (Stefankis & Tsihrintzsis, 2014)

In the search for sustainability, we can widely see an array of maintainable options and

methodologies pertaining to disposal from redistribution, decreases in production and increases

composting. When it comes to a cyclic environment, our most lucrative method of disposal

would be composting. As we analyze different modes and strategies of industrial composting,

states like California have already implemented composting services accumulating 5.9 million

tons in the U.S. which mostly consisted of yard trimmings and a small percentage of food waste.

(Goldstein, 1996) Unfortunately, that is a miniscule attribution to the fight against climate

change; therefore, political and communal mandates that range over the entire country would

divert a greater percentage. Not only will it decrease the amount of organics that enter landfills

but it will also motivate our society to becoming more mindful of where their waste gets
disposed. A large problem involves each of these individuals and corporations to fully

implement sustainable methods, “the broad and somewhat diffuse definition of sustainability

may allow corporations to highlight narrow, company‐specific technical fixes rather than do the

hard work associated with reducing food waste in their supply chains .” (Warshawaski, 2015, p.

1) Implementing sustainable methods should abide with trends as well as reach out as far as

large social platforms; additionally, we can see a rise in awareness of sustainability as more

generations become knowledgeable of alternative methods.

“The estimated 35.3 million tons of wasted food that went to landfills in 2018.” As we

look retrospectively from 1960-2018 our amount of waste accumulated and disposed in landfills

has drastically increased from 12.2 million tons to 35.3 million tons and is still climbing. (EPA,

2020) According to the EPA, “landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane in

the united states.” We can reflect upon the process landfilling being a waste of space, efficiency

as well as having unhealthy impacts on the environment as it overcrowds and overflows.

While we look at composting we can find the history to be of major importance to

recycling waste and positively reshaping the environment and landscapes. Compost is a process

in which the decayed end product is composed of organic material, which in turn, can be used as

a renewable soil amendment that improves the carbon and the soil itself (Magdoff & Van Es,

2009). Food waste is broken down by naturally occurring bacteria and fungus in the soil to form

compost. (University of Michigan School of Public Health, 2019)

Erosion is another large problem that we face; seeing that, “one-third of the world’s

arable land has been lost to soil erosion and continues to be lost at an alarming rate” (Zang and

Wang, 2006). We now know that we are able to sustainably recycle our organic food and organic

wastes to restore the eroded soil as well as maintain the chemical balances.
 When it comes to job reinforcement and availability it requires double the amount of

workers than it would in landfills. (Goldstein, 1996) A wide variety of states in the U.S. like

California and Maryland have already executed industrial composting facilities that have proven

to be more sustainable than landfills. (Goldstein, 1996) In order to divert the harm caused by

greenhouse gases we must look at all producers and consumers of waste that span from, schools,

businesses, restaurants, corporations as well as residential action. (Goldstein, 1996) Food scraps

only account for 7% of municipal solid waste that are composted where as 70% of yard

trimmings is what is mainly composted in these states. (Goldstein, 1996) The problem that

underlies compost is the fact that most of what is composted is yard trimming as opposed to food

waste; therefore, the food waste being disposed is still making its way into the landfill inevitably.

“In restaurants, organic materials make up an average of 74 percent of the total waste stream”

(Mitchell, 2011, p. 1). Therefore, the overall purpose of this study is to measure the amount of

food waste being disposed as well as composted from local restaurants in West Jacksonville,

Florida over a span of a year.

Methodology and Analysis

I have been awarded 100,000 dollars from the Barnes Public Health Foundation to

conduct a cross-sectional survey to analyze the amount of food waste being disposed of from two

local businesses in West Jacksonville, Florida. In doing so I will provide work for individuals

interest in on-site composting at J Lemon Pepper and Fish as well as Urban Eats Bistro. Not only

will we be analyzing the amount of food disposed; additionally, we will also salvage and

reprocess the food waste through a composting system process. In order to protect the
individuals who work in these environments we will not disclose any of the information of the

participant

We can look at retrospective cross-sectional studies of restaurants in the San Francisco

Bay Area, where Marisa Mitchell hypothesized, by taking the food waste and composting

through in-vessel methods would accommodate for 66% of an individual restaurant’s waste.

(Mitchell, 2011, p. 1) Doing so would on a global scale would divert the overall emissions of

greenhouse gases in landfills.

An estimate of 352 kg/day in food waste is calculated from an individual restaurant in the

study in San Francisco. (Mitchell, 2011, p. 6) Meaning that approximately 2,464 kg/week needs

to be composted from each of these restaurants. I will hire a specialist who will record, collect

and supervise the process of obtaining, weighing and soil production throughout the course of

this study. In this study my efforts to utilize $100,000 dollars absolved fairly quick, mostly due

to property needed to do composting, equipment and workers. I plan to hire two workers, that

will work as runners who will personally acquire the food waste from the restaurants J Lemon

Pepper and Fish as well as Urban Eats Bistro. They will be riding a bicycle with a trailer attached

and four trash bins per bicycle to reduce emissions produced from fossil fuels. These individuals

will go twice a day every day for a year straight, once after breakfast service and one for after the

dinner service. Once the food waste is acquired I will have acquired a property at 2411 W 1st St.

Jacksonville, Florida. On this property I will have set up 48 Aerobin 400 In-Vessel Composters,

which holds 943 kg each and it takes approximately 3 months for the waste to be composted and

relocate the new soil. I will need 3 composters a week to hold the amount of food waste being

produced by this business until I can reuse them after the three month period.
 The end goal of this study is to gather enough information to show a positive correlation

between the effects of composting and a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from landfills.

Subsequently, we will have a plethora of soil to redistribute making it a volatile market to make

profit and will be able to outsource to other businesses that need food waste disposed as well as

businesses who require good, quality soil made from sustainable methods.

Dissemination

Through this study we will be able to evaluate and implement productive methods in

reference to food waste. I plan to acknowledge my works on various social media platforms

from Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat that will hopefully be able to reach those

looking to become more sustainable. Promoting local business as well as providing more work

for individuals in dense city populations with large amounts of food waste. Overall, the aim is to

decrease the amount of organic material that is squandered under rubble of all different material

in landfills. In doing so it would lead to an decrease in emissions produced from greenhouse

gases in the United States.

 Supporting Information

Consent Form
Study title: Restaurant Composting

Researcher[s]: Mario Goss / B.S. Public Health/ University of North Florida Public Health
Department.
We’re inviting you to take a survey for research. This survey is completely voluntary. There are
no negative consequences if you don’t want to take it. If you start the survey, you can always
change your mind and stop at any time.

What is the purpose of this study?

Effects of composting on the environment
Examples: We want to see if there is a correlation between restaurant composting has an effect
on the environment.

What will I do?

I aim to outsource third party in a disposal of food waste in large scale corporations and
restaurants. Questions involving cost and effectiveness of running in a small population of
local businesses in Jacksonville will need a cross-sectional evaluation: amongst the amount of
food waste being disposed, the amount of time it takes to compost and cycle it back into the
soil, best methods as well as environmental specialists to analyze the data.
Example: This survey will ask about the amount of food being disposed at your facility.

Risks Cost, effectiveness, methane production

 Some questions may be personal or upsetting. You can skip them or quit the survey at any time.
 Online data being hacked or intercepted: Anytime you share information online there are risks.
We’re using a secure system to collect this data but we can’t completely eliminate this risk.
 Breach of confidentiality: There is a chance your data could be seen by someone who shouldn’t
have access to it. We’re minimizing this risk in the following ways:
o Data is anonymous
o We’ll remove all identifiers after (January 2022-January 2023)
o We’ll store all electronic data on a password-protected, encrypted computer.
o We’ll keep your identifying information separate from your research data, but we will be
able to link it to you. We’ll destroy this link after we finish collecting and analyzing the
data.
 Methane produces from any decomposition of organic material, risks are associated with
climate change.
Possible benefits: Decrease in overall methane production from landfills, sustainable soil
production

Estimated number of participants: 2 Local restaurants (involving 30-50 employed individuals)

How long will it take? 1 Year

Costs: Third Party Outsourcing, Statistical Analysts, Incentives

Compensation: Promotion through large social media platforms, expanding reputation of a

sustainable work environment. Due to institutional policy and IRS regulations, we may have to
collect your name, address, or phone number to give you this compensation.

Future research: De-identified data (all identifying information removed) may be shared with
other researchers. You won’t be told specific details about these future research studies.

Funding source: Barnes Foundation of Public Health

Where will data be stored? It will be stored on google forums

How long will it be kept? 6 months post study

Who can see my data?

 We (the researchers) will have access to Information on amount of food waste produced from
your facility. This is so we can analyze the data and conduct the study.
 Agencies that enforce legal and ethical guidelines, such as
o The Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of North Florida
 We may share our findings in publications or presentations. If we do, the results will be The
amount of weight in pounds that comes from the food waste. If we quote you, we’ll use
pseudonyms (fake names).

Questions about the research, complaints, or problems: Contact Mario Goss (386) 290-0608,
mariogoss2@icloud.com

Questions about your rights as a research participant, complaints, or problems: Contact Mario
Goss (386)290-0608

Please print or save this screen if you want to be able to access the information later.
IRB #: [insert once received]
IRB Approval Date: [insert once received]

Agreement to Participate
Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can withdraw at any time.
To take this survey, you must be:
 At least 18 years old
 Those involved in the food and waste industry

If you meet these criteria and would like to take the survey, click the button below to start.

This Online Survey Consent Form template was adapted from the University of Wisconsin-
Milwaukee available at https://uwm.edu/irb/consent-form-templates/

Survey Instrument

1. Do you believe that corporations should be doing more to address sustainability (meeting
the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their needs)?
a. Yes
b. No
2. Do you believe that corporations have a responsibility to do more to address
sustainability?
a. Yes
b. No
3. Do you participate in any type of composting?
a. Yes
b. No
4. Are you involved in any sort of food sustainability programs, e.g. redistributing food to
the homeless?
a. Yes
b. No
5. How often do you think about the amount of food that goes into landfills?
a. Always
b. Sometimes
c. Never
6. Do you believe that companies should be required to redistribute wasted food instead of
throwing it away, e.g. donuts that are not sold by the end of the day?
a. Yes
b. No
7. Are you currently employed at a company that is attempting to become more sustainable?
a. Yes
b. No
8. If you do, are you satisfied with your company’s attempts?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Not applicable
9. Do you currently work in a job involving food waste and/or landfills?
a. Yes
 b. No
10. If you do, do you think that the amount of food waste created in the United States is a
significant concern?
a. Yes
b. No
c. Not applicable

The survey participants for this survey are people who either work for a corporation that
produces food waste or people that work in a job directly involving food waste and/or landfills.
The first category would largely consist of people that work for large grocery chains, for
example: Kroger. This would ideally include everyone from the cashiers up to the CEO. The
second category would include garbage men, kitchen workers, lunch ladies, etc. It would also
include people that work at a landfill, people that incinerate trash, etc.

Budget and Timeline

Budget Item Months 1-6 Cost Months 7-12 Cost Total Cost
Personnel (list below) 8,520 8,520 17,040

Equipment and 1000 42,960

Supplies (list below)
150
16,800
25,000

Communications (list 20,000 20,000 40,000

below)

Total Requested 50,000 50,000 100,000

Activity Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

Self 1,420 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,42 1,420 1,42 1,420
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Property 25,00
0

Bicycles 1000
Trash Bins 150

Composte 16800
r

Workers 833 833 833 833 833 833 833 833 833 833 833 883

Work Cited

Cathey, P. (2019, September 19). Trash to Treasure: The incredible benefits Of composting: The

pursuit: University of Michigan School of Public HEALTH: Environmental Health:

Innovation: NUTRITION: POLLUTION. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from

https://sph.umich.edu/pursuit/2019posts/benefits-of-composting.html

Department of health. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from

https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/air/landfill_gas.htm

Food: Material-specific data. (2020, November 10). Retrieved April 19, 2021, from

https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/food-material-

specific-data

Goldstein, J. (1996). The state of the art of composting and perspectives. The Science of

Composting, 1040-1042. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-1569-5_101

Magdoff, F., & Van Es, H. (2009). Building soils for better crops: Sustainable soil management.

3rd ed. Beltsville, MD: SARE.

Mitchell, Marisa. (2011). On-site Composting of Restaurant Organic Waste: Economic,

Ecological, and Social Costs and Benefits.

Stefanakis, A., Akratos, C., & Tsihrintzis, V. (2014, July 04). Treatment of special wastewaters

in vfcws. Retrieved April 19, 2021, from

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124046122000076

Warshawsky, D. N. (2015). Food waste, sustainability, and the Corporate SECTOR: Case study

of a US food company. The Geographical Journal, 182(4), 384-394.

doi:10.1111/geoj.12156