An intrepid group of AOR members and guests hit the road on August 9 with a simple mission – to follow the food, or more aptly the food scraps, and see how two businesses in Willamette Valley create energy and/or compost with organic waste. The tour included stops at Stahlbush Island farms to learn how the farm uses anaerobic digestion, Pacific Regional Compost where yard debris and food scraps are composted, and a discussion about how to engage more people in backyard composting.

Stahlbush Island Farms spans 5,000 beautiful acres in Corvallis where they grow and freeze fruit, vegetables, grains and legumes. Owners Bill and Karla Chambers started the farm in 1985 with a focus on sustainable practices. Bill Chambers told the AOR group that the cost of managing the farm’s organic waste along with high energy prices in the early 2000s led to their decision to build an anaerobic digester or biogas plant on site. Bill noted that while energy costs have gone down significantly he still sees clear benefits to the digester, primarily to the health of soil on the farm, which has improved dramatically since they began applying the disgestate from the biogas plant to their fields where it acts as an organic fertilizer and builds soil health. The plant also produces enough energy to power the farm’s food processing operation, as well as steam that is used to blanch vegetables and hot air to dry pumpkin seeds.

Plant manager Rob Heater explained how the digester works and shared some of the challenges of being one of the first facilities of this kind in the United States. The digester has a vegan diet that includes vegetable waste from the on-site processing plant as well as corn silage and the occasional input of waste “grease cakes” from Kettle Foods. Rob noted that the acids in the waste are very hard on equipment and maintenance has been a challenge with some machines needing new parts every one to three months. Rob and Bill are eager to share what they’ve learned about running the biogas plant so others can learn from their story. 

The next stop was Oregon State University where soil scientist Linda Brewer led a discussion about how to engage more people in backyard composting. The group also discussed the role of backyard composting in communities with residential yard debris and food waste collection, and the problems of contamination in residential and commercial food waste.

A key point was that people generating food waste simply want it to “go away” and don’t understand that processors need good quality inputs to create high quality products that can be sold. This disconnect was well illustrated at the facilities the group visited. Stahlbush Island Farms takes great care with what they put in their digester to ensure the liquid and solid fertilizers they produce can be used to produce food that is certified organic or sustainable. Pacific Region Compost struggles with the level of contamination, particularly, plastics, that they find in both the residential and commercial organic waste they receive.

Rachel Snyder, with Republic Services, led the tour at Republic’s Pacific Region Compost facility in Monmouth. The group learned how the composting process works and saw the contamination challenge up close. Rachel noted that PRC is in the process of narrowing their acceptance policy to food and fiber only. They will no longer allow the inclusion of bio-plastics and are working with their commercial customers to find viable alternatives. The tour group was happy to hear about this change which creates greater consistency for commercial generators of food waste.

AOR appreciates our tour hosts and speakers for taking the time share their insights. A special thanks to AOR member Adam Gorske with Republic Services who took the lead on organizing this tour. Stayed tuned for more informative “on the road” tours and let us know your ideas for future tours.