By: Joseph Rios
A food coalition’s food waste processing project in the San Luis Valley is getting significant help from the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
At the beginning of the month, the EPA announced it has awarded $200,000 to the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition’s Valley Roots Food Hub — a program that will use the funds to install a high-efficiency anaerobic digestion system in Mosca. The anaerobic digestion will be used to process food and organic waste and turn it into fuel.
The EPA defines anaerobic digestion as the natural process in which microorganisms break down organic materials. Those materials can include things like food scraps, manure, and sewage sludge. Anaerobic digestion occurs in closed spaces where there is no air or oxygen, the EPA says.
The anaerobic digestion system will be installed at the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition’s Mosca campus. The system will be used for demonstration and educational purposes to show the benefits of anaerobic digestion and other forms of renewable energy. The EPA said in a release that the installation of the system will demonstrate the technological feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using anaerobic digestion to convert food and other organic waste into processing and cooking fuel.
“Keeping food waste out of landfills and converting it to fuel is a powerful tool for combatting the climate crisis. Projects like these can meet local needs and address global challenges,” said EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker in the release. “This project will be innovative for the San Luis Valley and will provide opportunities for demonstration, education, and expansion into other parts of the region.”
The EPA awarded 11 organizations, including the San Luis Valley Local Foods Coalition, a total of around $2 million to divert food waste from landfills by expanding anaerobic digestion systems. For the funding, the EPA specifically sought out projects or recipients located in underserved communities.
Anaerobic digestion systems reduce landfill methane emissions and reduce the impacts of climate change. The EPA says methane traps 28 to 36 times more heat in the atmosphere over a 100-year span than carbon dioxide. Anaerobic digestion systems are a waste management strategy that is greener than landfilling and incineration because it reclaims valuable resources like digestate that can be used as a fertilizer for crops.
The anaerobic digestion process produces biogas, a renewable energy source that communities and businesses across the country can use for things like power engines, fuel boilers and furnaces, alternative-fuel vehicles, and more.
“The EPA’s visionary funding for diverting organics out of landfill streams and providing opportunity for carbonneutral renewable energy is a great catalyst for rural communities working on these issues,” said Valley Roots Food Hub General Manager Nick Chambers in the release.
