Making Dirt, Not Waste, with the Help of WedgeShare

By Dianna Kennedy, Director of Communications at Eureka Recycling

One year ago, Wedge Co-op members voted to award local waste-reduction nonprofit Eureka Recycling with a WedgeShare Grant to develop a comprehensive restaurant composting program. This project focuses on identifying and overcoming the obstacles faced by small and medium-sized businesses when they try to compost their food scraps and non-recyclable papers. It addresses issues like costs, logistics, and staff training, and emphasizes education (for staff and for customers) about the benefits of closing the loop from food to leftovers to dirt and back into food.

When food scraps are thrown in the trash, they contribute significantly to climate change. When these materials decompose in a landfill, they become powerful contributors to greenhouse gas emissions; and when they are burned in incinerators, they contribute to emissions and pollution. When composted, this material creates nutrient-rich soil that is in high demand to grow more healthy food. Composting reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and greatly improves soil quality.

On December 15, the Wedge Co-op hosted a press event in the teaching classroom to officially launch the restaurant composting program. Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak was on hand, along with local nonprofits and business owners, to celebrate the launch and the environmental benefits of making dirt, not waste. "The City of Minneapolis is fortunate to have organizations and local businesses like these who will step forward and take action. Now it's up to our residents to take action—to choose restaurants that are composting and to take their own steps to recycle and compost at home," stated Mayor Rybak.

Kim Bartmann of Barbette, Bryant Lake Bowl, and Red Stag Supperclub, Danny Schwartzman of Common Roots Café, and Tracy Singleton of the Birchwood Café worked with Eureka Recycling to create the program. These restaurants are now composting and recycling over 90% of their waste. Since the restaurants began the program, they have composted 100 tons of materials.

In the first year, the impact of the inaugural five restaurants' composting and recycling efforts will be equal to removing 45 cars from the road for an entire year. And that's just the first five. Six more restaurants have already joined: Chowgirls Killer Catering, Gluek's Restaurant and Bar, Brasa, Fireroast Mountain Café, Sen Yai Sen Lek, Ecopolitan, and more are in the works. Interested restaurants should call Eureka Recycling at (651) 222-7678. An updated list is available on Eureka Recycling's new composting website: www.makedirtnotwaste.org, along with information and tips for how residents can make dirt, not waste, and a full, detailed report on the environmental benefits of composting and recycling.