Food Waste Solution Search

Solution Search for Food Waste Innovators

Closed Loop Foundation ran a solution search for food waste innovations to provide seed capital to support winning companies and their projects that have the potential to reduce food waste at scale.

Food Waste Solution Search Grantees

Full Cycle Bioplastics

Creates a circular-economy solution for food waste and plastic pollution by converting post consumer food waste into a compostable bioplastic.

Vermont Natural Ag Products

Recaptures renewable thermal energy created in its compost system to reduce energy consumption, time and therefore cost of creating the compost product.

Hold That Tray

Education, diversion, and combined anaerobic digestion/composting to highlight the value in food not served or wasted.

ALL IN Alameda

Comprehensive social enterprise to efficiently recover wasted food from retail

Renewal Mill

Harvests undervalued byproducts from current food production processes and upcycles them into high – value nutritious and wholesome products

BioWorks Energy/Flint, MI

Technology to make food waste into a sludge that can be incorporated into waste water digesters.

Georgia Tech

Add value to food waste nutrients by converting these nutrients into algal meal fish feed for aquaponic urban farming systems positioned at schools.

Indiana Recycling Coalition

Building a system solution for restaurant and retail composting by building a collection and processing system.

 

Closed Loop Foundation 

 

Film Recycling Solution Search

Solution Search for Film Recyclers

Closed Loop Foundation ran a solution search for innovators in the film recycling space. Drought Diet Products was announced as an awardee, using post-consumer film plastic feedstock in its irrigation piping products.

Food Waste Solution Search Grantees

Full Cycle Bioplastics

Creates a circular-economy solution for food waste and plastic pollution by converting post consumer food waste into a compostable bioplastic.

Vermont Natural Ag Products

Recaptures renewable thermal energy created in its compost system to reduce energy consumption, time and therefore cost of creating the compost product.

Hold That Tray

Education, diversion, and combined anaerobic digestion/composting to highlight the value in food not served or wasted.

ALL IN Alameda

Comprehensive social enterprise to efficiently recover wasted food from retail

Renewal Mill

Harvests undervalued byproducts from current food production processes and upcycles them into high – value nutritious and wholesome products

BioWorks Energy/Flint, MI

Technology to make food waste into a sludge that can be incorporated into waste water digesters.

Georgia Tech

Add value to food waste nutrients by converting these nutrients into algal meal fish feed for aquaponic urban farming systems positioned at schools.

Indiana Recycling Coalition

Building a system solution for restaurant and retail composting by building a collection and processing system.

 

Closed Loop Foundation 

Research and analysis

Glass Recycling Research

Investing in glass clean-up systems at material recycling facilities (MRFs) offers higher value commodities and significant savings for the entire system.

As more municipalities transition to single-stream recycling, glass is arriving at recycling facilities (MRFs) in larger volumes, taxing the limits of aging equipment. The resulting material is more contaminated, making it difficult for downstream processors and manufacturers to use. Glass prices are lower too, driving down profitability and offering few downstream options for MRFs. As a result, more glassends up in landfills.

Across the country, municipalities and MRFs are spending more than $150M a year to dispose of single-stream glass. The problem is likely to get worse as markets continue to decline. As a result, more municipalities and MRFs have chosen to remove glass from their recycling programs in recent months. If the trend continues, the system will recover less and less of the glass generated each year, despite the fact that manufacturers can save significant costs and energy using recycled glass. All stakeholders – from municipalities and MRFs to processors, manufacturers, and brand owners – need a more efficient and cost-effective solution to handle single-stream glass.

 

Read the full report

 

Our Work

Closed Loop Foundation’s glass study was conducted with support from HEINEKEN USA in July through December, 2016. Our research team interviewed industry stakeholders, including MRF operators, equipment providers, consultants, glass processors, and end users.

Additional data and research included in this report was obtained from interviewees, Glass Packaging Institute, RRS, and US EPA. Data on MRFs provided by Governmental Advisory Associates, Inc., 2016-2017 Database on Material Recovery Facilities and Mixed Waste Processing Facilities in the U.S., copyright 2016.

Closed Loop Foundation 

 

Media Coverage

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