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Increasing Recycling for Organic Materials

Introduction

The Organic Materials Initiative will help expand and strengthen the closed-loop reuse and recycling system in Washington for organic materials. This system will convert leftover or excess organic materials into feedstocks for resources and bio-products such as compost, bioenergy, and biofuels, without creating new wastes. The extensive list of “organic materials” includes substances and products of biological origin that we could safely return to the soil or turn into new products. Organic materials include yard waste, food scraps, manures, crop residues, soiled/low-grade paper, wood, and biosolids.

Ultimately, a closed-loop system for residual organic materials depends upon processing organics according to the highest and best uses possible. When establishing this hierarchy, we must consider environmental, social, and economic impacts. Benefits of a closed-loop organics recycling system include:

• Reduced demand for landfill space.
• Reduced release of greenhouse gases.
• Reduced need for added chemicals (such as fertilizers and pesticides) to agricultural lands.
• Improved soil quality and structure.
• Production of renewable fuels.
• Water conservation.
• Creation of new jobs.
• Climate change mitigation actions, such as carbon sequestration.

This initiative is key to achieving the Beyond Waste vision because:

1. Organic materials represent a significant portion of Washington's commercial and residential waste streams. Agriculture, forestry, and the food-processing industry also generate large quantities of organic materials.



2. Organic materials are easily recycled into new products such as biofuel, fiberboard, and soil amendments.



3. Substantial infrastructure for recycling organic materials already exists. We can establish a viable organics cycle by expanding infrastructure to fill in gaps and supporting new processing technologies.



4. Organics recycling provides significant environmental and human health benefits. Practices such as landfilling organics, open burning, and storing manures in open lagoons contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gasses.

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