Good news, America: Your congressmen are composting.
Well, at least the ones dining at the mundane Capitol dining facilities. The Longworth Cafeteria and other federal feed halls have had a composting program since the fall.
This composting is part of the Green the Capitol initiative, which is halving the amount of waste the House sends to landfills. In Longworth, super delegates and their staff separate their trash into “compostable” and “non-compostable” slots at recycling stations. Included in the former are the biodegradable plates and cutlery.
After a trip through an in-building “pulper” that removes 70 percent of the liquid, the remaining “slaw” is trucked about 23 miles to Chesterfield Farms, in Crofton, Md.
No word yet on whether the excessive “pork” streaming from the Capitol causes problems at the composting facility.
Comments
3 responses to “Capitol Composting”
That’s awesome! I had no idea about that. And Crofton, MD is only about a half hour from me.
Wouldn’t it be better for them to use washable plates and cutlery than compostable, though? (Better = less total lifecycle energy cost, fewer petroleum inputs)
I’m glad the food waste is being composted, but curious as to what the energy cost of the pulping and grinding is. We certainly don’t do that for our home compost pile.
Not sure, TG. It’s a good question, but there are so many variables you’d have to know in order to decide which option is better. Considering that we can’t even figure out the ‘Paper or Plastic?’ question, I’m not sure we’ll ever get to the bottom of the compostable cutlery vs. washing silverware debate.