At the foot of the snow-covered hill, a flare burns while we can see some 300 gas wells connected by more than 25 kilometers of pipeline. This is not a shale gas exploitation, but the huge Swaco landfill (Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio), which manages the waste of the million inhabitants of the agglomeration of Columbus, capital of Ohio.
By dint of bringing 500 tons of waste every day, a mountain 75 meters high has formed, invaded by starlings, and the 115-hectare site, which gives off such an odor in summer that it is necessary to “perfume” the atmosphere, never ceases to grow. Above all, the food waste buried in the landfill, deprived of oxygen, ferments and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. It is for the moment recovered by BP and makes it possible to heat some 13,000 dwellings, but the ideal would be not to produce it.
“Food waste represents 15% of our intake, it is the first material”, explains Joe Lombardi, boss of the Swaco landfill: 450 tonnes per day. Its objective by 2032 is to divide by four the materials deposited in its landfill, starting with food waste.
Awareness campaign
Americans overcook, eat too much, throw away too much, let their food expire. In total, according to the ReFed association, which aims to reduce food waste, a quarter of the 230 million tons of food produced in the United States is lost and this waste is responsible for 4% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. 270 million tonnes of CO2, twice what domestic aviation produces. And households are the first responsible for this waste (39%), with catering (20%). Agriculture is the cause of 27% of the losses, followed by commerce and industry (7% each). In total, this waste, all inclusive, costs 1,500 dollars (1,390 euros) per year to a family with two children, according to the site savethefood.com.
Over the past few years, Swaco has therefore embarked on an all-out awareness campaign. Each year, it devotes some 9 million dollars, with the help of a dozen employees out of the 120 that it has, to change habits. Targeted donations of $30,000 intended for the most innovative initiatives, mass mailings of educational documentation, guided tours of the landfill, raising awareness of children in schools… The entire community is mobilized in the program ” savemorethanfood (“save more than food”).
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