A communication was received from Mayor Siddiqui and Vice Mayor Mallon transmitting information about a Commercial …

Abstract Reducing food waste was heralded as the highest impact method to combat climate change by a leading consortium of scientists at Project Drawdown.1 After three years of conducting primary research into this problem, Cambridge Table to Farm, the Cambridge Business Associations, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, 31 restaurants, and over 300 signatories together urge the City Council to implement a commercial composting pilot program for restaurants.

We calculate that a program with 100 restaurants would: Divert upwards of 5,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions from the environment per year Save local restaurants $1,000 to $25,000 annually per restaurant Provide restaurants a hedge against increasing trash costs across the next 5 years Help address landfill capacity shortages by removing 6,000 tons of waste per year In this paper, we present the environmental case for a commercial composting program, the financial case, and our story.

1 Sort by scenario 1 within Drawdown’s Table of Solutions 3

The Proposal

Informed by our primary research, and supported by the broader community, we urge City

Council to:

Develop a pilot program for small to mid-sized businesses to begin commercial composting / anaerobic digestion Set an explicit goal of 100 participants and track total food waste diverted as part of the

City’s Sustainability Dashboard

Fund a budget between $300,000 - $500,000 and limit participation to businesses with less than 50 employees Establish a strategy for expanding to organizations with greater than 50 employees 5. Incorporate the following elements into the pilot project: Free composting receptacles ✦

Up to 4x Per Week Pickup

Multilingual Educational Material

✦

Diverse, Equitable, Local Workforce

for Restaurants 4

The Environmental Argument

Summary: Diverting restaurant food waste will make a massive impact on emissions. Food waste becomes methane when it decomposes in landfills and has emerged as an extraordinary contributor to climate change.

The problem is so severe that Project Drawdown, a leading consortium of scientists studying climate change, has ranked reducing food waste as the highest impact technique to decrease our carbon footprint, capable of diverting over 87 gigatons of CO2 equivalent emissions from the atmosphere over the next 30 years.

If food waste itself were its own country, it would be third behind China and the US in terms of overall greenhouse gas emissions.2 After interviewing approximately 20 restaurants in Cambridge, we found that the average small to medium size restaurant wastes approximately 60 tons of food per year.3 Applying the EPA Waste Reduction Model (WARM), this is the equivalent of 5,300 tons of divertable CO2 emissions each year.4 Beyond the emissions, moving food waste to compost facilities also reduces our reliance on landfills and waste-to-energy centers that present general hazards to human health.5 Diverting 5 Incineration Processes and Environmental Releases 4 For detailed calculations of impact and our sources, please visit our emissions calculator.

3 Restaurant interviewing methodology section provides a description of how we arrived at this number. 2 How Cutting Food Waste can Help the Climate 5 water-logged organics from waste-to-energy centers further optimizes plant operational efficiency.6

The Restaurant Argument

Summary: Restaurants not currently composting will be able to avoid large MassDEP fines effective Oct. 2021, and will be given the opportunity to substantially reduce their trash pickup costs. Restaurants that currently compost will save thousands by no longer paying for service.

Help Restaurants Save Money Composting

There are many restaurants in Cambridge that currently pay for composting. A government-sponsored composting service will immediately save them thousands to tens of thousands dollars. Daniel Myers, the owner of Loyal Nine Restaurant explains, “Composting is by far the best way to dispose of waste in a sustainable fashion, and most restaurants provide loads of it. We spend over $10,000 annually on composting as is.”

Help Restaurants Avoid Fines

In October of 2021, the Massachusetts DEP will start implementing fines up to $25,000 per violation for any institution that wastes more than ½ ton of food waste per week.7 From our primary research, the vast majority of Cambridge restaurants will automatically fall into the ½ ton per week bucket. A small business composting pilot program would assist local restaurants in remaining compliant and avoid fines associated with dumping organic waste.

Help Restaurants Save on Trash Fees

A government-sponsored commercial composting program will reduce the volume of restaurant trash by over 30 percent, providing restaurants the opportunity to renegotiate their trash-hauling contracts and save substantially on pickup fees.8 It is particularly important to give restaurants a lever to reduce their trash contracts given future landfill capacity projections.

Massachusetts landfills have already utilized ~83% of their permitted capacity, and are predicted to grow towards 100% utilization throughout the next 5 8 Statistic acquired from primary research. Restaurants will also need to be vocal with their trash companies to achieve the savings, and aware of automatic billing cycles. 7 Mass DEP Oct 2021 Food Waste Bans Draft. We have provided a link with the draft of the plan available publicly online, and have heard from our sources that the plan recently got approved.

6 Food Waste to Energy: An Overview of Sustainable Approaches for Food Waste Management and

Nutrient Recycling

6 years.9 As this process unfolds, it stands to reason that landfill tipping fees will increase, which will push higher trash prices onto restaurants.

The Government Argument

Summary: The restaurant industry needs support urgently from the government.

Provide Pandemic Relief

The pandemic has been an enormously difficult time for the restaurant industry. In Massachusetts, 1 in 5 restaurants have closed, and 93% have laid off employees.

The National Restaurant Association reports that there has been a 96% decline in restaurant sales with the average loss greater than 80%.10 Under these circumstances, the Cambridge government should use every innovative approach at its disposal to help the industry regain its former strength, including (but not limited to) the ideas laid out in this proposal. 10 Over 200k Mass. Restaurant Workers Laid Off; 93% of Restaurants Have Cut Staff 9 Massachusetts Materials Management Capacity Study. Section 2-3.

83% figure in summary slides, pg 12. Presented to MassDEP. 7 Cambridge businesses have previously expressed their interest to participate in a curbside composting program. Their interest was raised as a policy order (POR 2018 #147) that the City Council passed in 2018. In April of 2019, another policy order (POR 2019 #133) was passed to hear the details of their findings.