Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club, The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Hospital, Atria Del Sol assisted living facility and Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Company will receive state-of-the-art food dehydrators as part of a new regional program designed to divert food from the landfill and reduce the City’s carbon footprint.
Mission Viejo this week rolled out the food waste diversion program that uses innovative technology to process food waste into compost. Food waste – generated from food manufacturing facilities; supermarkets; schools; hospitals; restaurants; food courts; and homes – is a large part of the waste stream that’s not currently being diverted. The program, with Waste Management of Orange County, is a “first-of-its kind” in Orange County and is a partnership with Laguna Beach, Irvine and the unincorporated areas of Ladera Ranch and Los Flores.
The program uses a pioneering dehydration system that reduces food waste in weight and volume and could divert 51 tons of food waste annually from each participating business. The left over mixture of dehydrated food waste material can be used as a nutrient-rich additive to compost and such. The program will also lessen the need for frequent trash service since the food will be diverted from the waste stream. That will ultimately reduce carbon footprint emissions.
The regional program, which is funded through a grant from the County of Orange OC Waste & Recycling, is another notch on Mission Viejo’s environmental belt. The City has long been a leader on the environmental front by implementing and expanding recycling and waste diversion programs in an effort to preserve and protect the environment and exceed the state’s mandated 50 percent diversion rate.
I’m excited to hear about the food waste diversion program that turns food waste into compost. It seems like a great way to cut down on waste. But, I find it rather disturbing that we must find a creative way to dispose of “51 tons of food waste”! That fact that we dispose of that much food “waste” is shocking. How sad that we can’t find a way to freeze dry it to feed the homeless and starving people around the country.