Replenish takes recycling to the next level
You've heard of farm to fork – bringing fresh food from area farms to restaurant tables. The concept has gone one step further with Replenish, a program to collect food scraps from restaurants and take them back to the farm.
Holistic nutritionist Dr. Kim Furtado and recycling enthusiast D.C. Kuhns established Eden Delmarva and kicked off Replenish in 2011 in an effort to promote recycling.
The pair partnered with Rehoboth Beach restaurants to collect food waste, which is composted and sold to gardeners or farmers who till it back into the soil.
"It's a win-win project," said Gov. Jack Markell May 20 at an event near the Rehoboth Beach Museum to announce the expansion of the program.
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control Secretary Collin O'Mara said Delaware has been behind when it comes to recycling, but he hopes the energy from this project will vitalize the effort.
"This really takes it to the next level; this is farm to fork and back to the farm," O'Mara said.
In addition to signing 30 restaurants in the Cape Region to the project, Replenish is also expanding to Newark.
Restaurant participation is key, and waste haulers must be willing to make extra pickups to take food scraps to a composter.
"We saw that yard waste was being banned in New Castle County, and we knew it was going to happen in Sussex County," said Robert Tunnell of Blue Hen Organics. To prepare for the statewide yard waste ban, Blue Hen built a compost facility in Frankford, which opened in 2010 to handle yard waste, farm waste, poultry litter and food scraps.
Restaurant workers separate food scraps from other refuse and put the food in a container which Blue Hen Disposal picks up and takes to the compost facility.
"The project allows restaurants to divert their waste from the landfill; if you can divert enough material there is a cost decrease because you can reduce the size of the container or the number of pickups," Tunnell said. "We are still actively seeking restaurants to participate."
In 2012, about 245 tons of organic food scraps were collected from Cape Region restaurants. From this, Blue Hen Organics made nearly 100 tons of nutrient-rich compost. Since its opening, Blue Hen has composted 50,000 tons of organic material, Tunnell said.
"Replenish works to educate restaurant owners, managers and staff on the benefits of reducing their environmental footprint and improving their economic efficiency," Furtado said.
Replenish received grant funding from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's regional greenhouse gas reduction initiative, the Longwood Foundation, Welfare Foundation and from regional energy producer Constellation/Exelon.
For more information go to Eden Delmarva at www.edendelmarva.org or call 302-542-3400.
