Dive Brief:

• The facility in Port of Wilmington, DE responsible for processing New York City’s organic waste was closed in October. 
• Following a battle with the community, Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) decided against renewing the facility’s permit. 
• The plant accepted organic scraps from New York City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the local community in Delaware and was struggling to keep up with the vast amount of waste and was capable of handling 160,000 tons per year.

Dive Insight:

It is speculated that the downfall of the facility was its liberal acceptance policy- paired with the substantial volume of waste arriving on site. The plant allowed contaminated waste, which was separated on-site from the organic matter. Magnets removed the metals while workers sorted through plastics by hand. 

According to the DNREC, massive amounts of non-compostable and non-recyclable debris, leachate and fires contributed to the plant’s closure. 

In 2013, when a proposal to ban food waste was unveiled by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, plans called for a new facility to be built to handle the organics. In January, the city announced it inked a deal with Waste Management to convert some food waste into heat at the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Brooklyn.

New York City is currently delivering an unknown amount of resident’s food waste to landfills.