Here at the Montgomery County Food Council, we love food. We love eating it, we love making it, we love helping others gain access to it, and we love to dispose of it as responsibly as possible. We are even willing (and excited) to take up the opportunity to tour dozens of massive food waste piles when we have the chance! In early September, members of the Food Council, the Environmental Impact Working Group, and other County stakeholders interested in compost-related initiatives visited the Prince Georges County Organics Compost Facility.
The Prince Georges County Organics Compost Facility originally functioned exclusively
as a yard waste composting facility, and currently accepts 45,000 tons of yard waste annually from approximately 164,000 households throughout Prince Georges County. In 2013, the facility piloted food scrap composting, and has since expanded to accept 8,000 tons of food scraps per year from residential, commercial, and institutional sectors throughout Maryland and DC, and even from sources in Wilmington, DE. At the time of our tour, the facility was finishing up construction to install a new 12 bunker Gore Cover system that will allow the facility to accept 32,500 tons of food scraps. That’s a lot of apple peels!
Our tour was led by Steven Birchfield, the Field Operations Supervisor at the site. He guided us through the process that the food scraps and yard waste undergo upon arrival at the facility, and explained the benefits of the GoreCover system to alleviate odors and provide pest control. He also explained the advanced technology that will be featured in the 12 bunker system, such as aeration holes lining the bunkers to regulate temperatures in the compost piles. Once construction is complete, the Prince Georges County Organics Compost Facility will be the largest food waste composting facility on the East Coast.
Thank you to the Prince Georges County Organics Compost Facility staff for hosting our group and for the fantastic work being done to reduce food waste in the Maryland area. Thank you to our Environmental Impact Working Group and it’s members for joining us on the tour, and to all of the County stakeholders who attended!