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<br /> Comprehensive Review of <br /> S olid W aste Collection and Disposal Options <br /> <br /> <br />v2.1 57 10/22/12 <br />(e.g., universities and correctional facilities) throughout the United States. Of particular note, the <br />University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (UNC) operates a robust organics diversion program <br />on its campus with cooperation from Orange County and Brooks Contractors. <br />4.3.2.1 Summary of Organics Diversion Process <br />By design, organics diversion programs reduce the quantity of waste that is disposed in landfills <br />at the source of generation, and generally makes beneficial use of source separated organics <br />through composting or anaerobic digestion. The end product of composting is a humus-like <br />material that can be used as a soil amendment. The end product of anaerobic digestion is <br />methane gas and residual solids that can be further processed through composting and used as a <br />soil amendment. Methane gas generated from anaerobic digestion processes typically is a <br />medium BTU gas (500 MMBTU per cubic foot) and can be used to generate electricity (vendors <br />have quoted SCS 200 kWh/ton), used as a fuel substitute in various other combustion processes <br />(e.g., boilers), or further treated to produce a high-BTU fuel product that can be either directly <br />injected into natural gas pipelines or used as an alternative vehicle fuel (compressed natural gas <br />or liquefied natural gas). <br />4.3.2.2 Estimated Material Volume <br />According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), approximately 14% <br />of the total municipal waste stream consists of food waste3. The 2010 Waste Composition <br />Study4 performed for Orange County, which included Chapel Hill, indicated that food waste in <br />Town represented 26% of the total waste stream. According to annual recycling data gathered <br />by UNC, during the 2010-11 reporting year, their organics diversion program recovered 538 tons <br />of organic materials for composting at Brooks Contractors. This represents 17% of the 37% <br />recycling achievement. <br />Various studies5,6 indicate that per household generation of food waste ranges from 5 to 10 <br />pounds per household per month. Using these two data points, Exhibit 4-4 provides an estimate <br />of the total potential food waste generation and projected recovery from the Town’s residential <br />waste stream assuming an average 50% participation (or setout) rate. The exhibit also provides <br />an estimate of the organics that might be captured from the commercial waste stream as well; <br />however, for the purpose of this analysis, only the curbside residential customers are considered. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />3 U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/organics/food/fd-basic.htm <br />4 SCS Engineers, Orange County Waste Composition Study, Summary of April 2010 Results, Prepared for Solid <br />Waste Management Department, Orange County, North Carolina, June 15, 2010. <br />5 Econservation Institute, Best Management Practices in Food Scrap Programs, Prepared for U. S. EPA Region 5. <br />6 SWANA Applied Research Foundation, Curbside Residential Food Waste, Research Memorandum, December <br />2008.