San Jose, CA — Waste has a major impact on the environment, causing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. The United States leads the world in the production of waste, followed by other leading industrial nations. The U.S. produces a quarter of the world’s waste, despite the fact that its population of 300 million is less than 5 percent of the world’s population. (1) By 2025, there will be 1.4 billion more people living in cities worldwide, with each person producing an average of 3.1 pounds of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day—more than double the current average of 1.4 pounds per day. (2)
Global warming—and how to mitigate it—is a fast-growing topic of concern, as awareness continues to increase. To meet goals for the reduction of waste being sent to landfills, states across the country are passing new or more stringent laws aimed at reducing the environmental and health impacts of waste, as well as improving the country’s resource efficiency. Progressive states and cities are addressing the need to stop waste food from being sent to landfills by passing regulations. Initially, the regulations apply to only the largest producers of such waste.
Iain Milnes, founder and president of Power Knot, (www.powerknot.com) a leading provider of environmentally-sound products that reduce costs and carbon footprint, says, “These laws are a step in the right direction, but the progress towards keeping all waste food that is generated commercially out of landfills is progressing too slowly. We are running out of time to solve the issue of global warming and need to address the key contributors to it now. Waste food rotting on a landfill is one such key contributor in the USA. For businesses needing to be compliant with these new mandates, there is a cost effective solution that can ensure not only the proper disposal of waste, but the reduction of it, long before it even becomes an issue.”
The need to keep waste from landfills — and comply with the new regulations — led Power Knot to develop the LFC (www.powerknot.com) (Liquid Food Composter). This machine not only helps an organization to reduce their carbon footprint but it helps them to better understand and manage company resources. LFCs offer a viable option for states across the country looking for innovative and cost effective ways to meet the fast approaching compliance deadlines. LFCs rapidly digest waste food; different sizes are available that can dispose up to 4,000 pounds per day. The LFCs weigh the amount of waste food and send that information to the cloud. This allows management—both local and remote—to monitor how much is being discarded and identify when and where there may be a large quantity of food waste so they can take appropriate actions to reduce it.
Laws differ from state to state, but illustrate an overall commitment to environmental stewardship:
California no longer permits commercial generators of large amounts of waste food to send it to a landfill. (3) With the LFC, that organic waste can be digested on site to keep it out of the landfills.
Massachusetts has placed a ban on commercial organic waste by businesses that dispose of one ton or more of such materials per week. (4)
Austin, Texas, recently instated a “green” initiative to reach zero waste by 2040—meaning the city needs to reduce the amount of trash sent to landfills by 90 percent. (5)
New York City businesses may use a bio-digester like the LFC that weighs the food and keeps records for five years. (6) Milnes said, “The requirement to weigh the waste is one that causes problems for many businesses. With the LFC being able to weigh the waste and keep track of the records, it facilitates the implementation of this law.” He went on to say the ability to access those records remotely allows these companies to review the numbers at any time.
Milnes applauds the aggressive approach adopted by these regions, and suggests a short-order, yet long-term, solution as compliance deadlines loom. With an average of 70 million tons of food waste filling the nation’s landfills annually, Power Knot’s clean technology solutions will continue to help advance the global movement toward sustainability and zero waste initiatives.
About Power Knot’s LFC:
Power Knot’s LFC is a reliable solution to the challenge of corporate social responsibility faced by industries plagued with high amounts of food waste. It allows companies to cleanly and safely break down the waste on-site, and in doing so, to generate goodwill with the growing number of environmentally-conscious consumers. Power Knot’s clean technology solutions will continue to help advance the global movement toward sustainability and zero waste initiatives.
About Power Knot:
Power Knot, with its headquarters in San Jose, Calif., provides innovative solutions for commercial, industrial, and military customers seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. The company designs, manufactures, and sells systems that are self-contained to eliminate waste food.
Its LFCs (Liquid Food Composters) are high-quality, technologically-advanced bio-digesters capable of rapid digestion of most organic materials. LFCs create a safe and economical resolution for customers looking to address their carbon footprint by diverting waste food from landfills and by reducing emissions related to the transportation of waste.
LFCs represent long-term performance and sustainability for any organization. LFCs typically have a payback period of six to 24 months based on reduced waste and costs of waste disposal. For more information, access http://www.powerknot.com.
1. “World’s Worst Waste.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 05 Sept. 2006. Web. 24 June 2016. www.forbes.com/2006/05/23/waste-worlds-worst-cx_rm_0524waste.html .
2. “Which Countries Produce the Most Waste?” Weforum.org. Formative Content, 20 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 June 2016. www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/08/which-countries-produce-the-most-waste .
3. "AB-1826 Solid Waste: Organic Waste." Assembly Bill No. 1826. 28 September 2014. http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1826
4. “Commercial Food Waste Disposal Ban.” Mass.gov. Web. www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/recycle/reduce/food-waste-ban.html.
5. “Austin Resource Recovery.” N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2016. www.austintexas.gov/department/austin-resource-recovery.
6. “Composting and Organic Material Management.” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Web. www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/8798.html.
Source: Power Knot
