Monthly Archives: October 2008

Friday Buffet

Who is feeding America? Not America’s Second Harvest, because they’re now called Feeding America. — — I recently interviewed Converted Organics’ CEO Ed Gildea on the company’s fancy pants composting process. They’ve just posted a video showing the first delivery of solid food waste to their New Jersey facility. — — While we’re watching videos, […]

October 31, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Food Recovery, Friday Buffet, Household, International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Weather We Waste

Brrr. Here in North Carolina we just dipped into frost season. The cold, while handy for preserving your jack-o-lantern, will signal the end for all but the underground crops and hearty winter greens (collards, anyone?). For those still hanging on to a few late season crops, it may be time to pick what you have […]

October 30, 2008 | Posted in Garden, Personal | Comments closed

Converted Organics Q & A

Converted Organics transforms food waste into compost through its unique EATAD process. Ed Gildea, the CEO of the Boston-based company, recently explained that technology and the company’s vision in this interview: 1. Enhanced Autogenous Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion (EATAD) sounds complicated—Can you explain it for us non-science folks? In short, the EATAD process is microbial digestion […]

October 29, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Q & A | Comments closed

Leftover Boxes Left Out

On a recent visit to Noodles & Company, I was pleasantly surprised to notice that they set out their take-away boxes next to the cup lids and napkins. I’m not sure if this occurs at all locations of the noodle chain, but I’m all for it! First, it encourages the saving of leftovers by preventing […]

October 28, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture, Restaurant | Comments closed

Outing Waste

Friday, I got a hot tip that a nearby Noodles & Company had closed due to a power outage. I zoomed over to see whether there’d be widespread food waste panic, but they’d reopened by the time I arrived. The woman behind the counter said that they’d thrown out a few things, but not much. […]

October 27, 2008 | Posted in Restaurant | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Tacoma’s McNeil Island prison (Correctional Facility if you want to split hairs) is now composting food as part of a larger effort to cut both waste and their budget. — — Interesting discussion of when biodegradable bags don’t live up to their adjective.  Keep in mind that “compostable” trumps “biodegreadable.” And King County, Washington (Seattle) recommends three brands of […]

October 24, 2008 | Posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, Household, Institutional | Comments closed

Campus Environmentalism: Sustained

Yesterday was Campus Sustainability Day. Yeah, I missed it, too. The good news is that all these schools didn’t. In honor of that day, ARAMARK put out a nice press release reviewing their work in making college food service more sustainable. Not content to simply cut food waste, ARAMARK hopes to reach the rarefied air […]

October 23, 2008 | Posted in College, Trayless | Comments closed

Squirrel Soup?

A little while back, the World Bank found that global food prices have increased 83 percent in the last three years. And then recently, the economic shit stuff hit the fan. Will rising costs and dwindling savings prompt a change in behavior? My first wish is for more wishes that the economy rebounds. Barring that, my second wish […]

October 22, 2008 | Posted in International | Comments closed

A Healthy Choice

A hospital in Carthage, Missouri (America’s Maple Leaf City) is now pleasing patients and cutting waste by offering room service. Since last week, patients at McCune-Brooks Hospital can order meals by phone and enjoy whatever their (hopefully healthy) heart desires 30 minutes later. No word yet on which is more exorbitant, these health insurance-billed meals […]

October 21, 2008 | Posted in Institutional | Comments closed

Putting a Face on Waste?

I woke up cold this morning, which means that it’s time to turn on the heat and buy a few pumpkins. On the latter, I recently received a tweet from Stef at The Cupcake Project asking whether rotting jack-o-lanterns bother me because it’s food going to waste. Great question. Since I love carving pumpkins and […]

October 20, 2008 | Posted in History and Culture, Personal | Comments closed