Newport is exploring its options for implementing composting in the city.
The Newport Commission heard from GoZERO, a composting company, at a caucus meeting on Oct. 7. GoZERO Founder David Andre discussed options with the city during his presentation, which included a centralized drop-off area and individual residential composting services. City officials said during the meeting that residents have been asking for these services.
Andre said households lose around $2,000 annually on food waste, which equates to about 27 pounds of food per person per month. Andre said that if food waste were a nation, it would fall third, behind China and the United States, in producing greenhouse gases.
He said that organic matter in landfills does not have enough oxygen. When it tries to find a more stable state, it produces methane.
“That methane is over 20 times more incubating—it’s got a greater greenhouse gas impact on the climate than carbon dioxide does, so there’s an environmental impact,” Andre said.
Not only does food waste produce methane, but it can also take a long time for the material to break down. Andre had the commission guess how long it takes for a head of lettuce to break down in a landfill.
The answer? 25 years.
“If we could capture that organic matter and do something more productive with it, that’s the goal,” Andre said.
GoZERO has nearly 200 locations across western and central Ohio. If a partnership between the company and Newport works out, it will be the first one on this side of the Ohio River.
Andre recommended that the city use a food waste compost drop-off station rather than individual services to start with. The drop-off stations are places where one or more watertight, lidded, 64-gallon GoZERO food waste carts are placed for public use. The watertight lid helps keep odors in and critters out.
GoZERO comes to collect the compost weekly or bi-weekly.
“This is something that folks have been asking for, so it would be really great to see us take the next step, mayor,” Newport Commissioner Mike Radwanski said.
While the company focuses on food waste, Andre said they can compost meat, dairy, bones and paper products such as paper towels.
Newport Commissioner Julie Smith-Morrow asked Andre if GoZERO offers educational sessions to help residents learn how to use compost containers.
Andre said they prefer to teach a teacher on staff who can set up training with residents.
If an item makes it into a cart, it is not permitted. Andre said the team that picks them up will sift through the material and remove anything not compostable. The drivers track and report the unpermitted items, and then GoZero communicates with the customer about the items.
Andre said the smaller bins discourage dumping at the site for things like mattresses, TVs and tires.
“Psychologically, it’s not commonplace, and it’s not that kind of thing where you’re bringing TVs, mattresses and tires, right?” he said. “You took the time to separate your carrot tops and the T-bone steak trimmings and put it over in a bowl for a little while, and you’re going to take it over to the community drop-off station. That’s a fundamentally different frame of mind than we’re just looking for somewhere to dump stuff.”
Andre also had an idea for a partnership with the city to use the Newport landfill for a pilot program for a material aggregation box and or a composting site. This would allow GoZERO a closer drop-off point than its main location, two hours away in Logan County, Ohio. The city commission did not directly comment on the idea during the meeting.
“You expressed a couple of ideas for opportunities of partnership, and I think we want to be on that journey with you,” Newport Mayor Tom Guidugli Jr. said. “I think that you’ve got some creative ideas. We look forward to getting more information so that we can make an informed decision moving forward out of this meeting.”
