Waste Industries Gets Innovative with Guilford College

GREENSBORO, NC, February 02, 2013 (Press-News.org) Waste Industries USA, Inc. (WI) has announced a partnership with Guilford College (GC) and Guilford Dining through a new food waste reduction program called the Food Waste Digester (FWD). The FWD is a machine that uses patented microbes to break down from 300 pounds up to 2,400 pounds of food waste into a liquid form within 24 hours. This method allows food to be disposed by gravity into a floor drain then on to a wastewater treatment facility. Using the FWD ensures that the liquefied food matter stays out of landfills.

"As a triad business for more than 25 years, we're proud to initiate this partnership and introduce the future of food disposal systems with this green technology," says Roger Marcum, general manager of WI's Greensboro Branch. "The FWD is another example of our company's history of providing sustainable, cost-effective and environmentally-sound solutions to customers. And the results tell the story."

With food waste at an all-time high, the FWD is proving to be a viable solution for universities, restaurants, hotels and other event and entertainment venues. By utilizing the FWD and composting, GC has been able to successfully divert pre- and post-consumer food waste from the Triad's landfills and transfer stations and reduce the college's carbon footprint. Since installation in late summer, the college has been able to divert approximately 9,000 pounds of food waste per month away from landfills - equivalent to 300 pounds per day. Before the FWD was introduced, managing the amount of daily food waste generated overwhelmed the compost capabilities of the college. Either the quality of the compost produced was being jeopardized or some food waste was inevitably entering the waste stream. The FWD coupled with composting allows 100% diversion. GC and Guilford Dining are early adopters of this new technology that offers both cost savings and environmental benefits.

According to Chris Blain, the retail and sustainability manager for Meriwether Godsey who manages Guilford Dining, "The FWD is a perfect fit. It is essentially a mechanical stomach that breaks down food and eliminates it in an ecological way that aligns with the college's stance on environmental sustainability. This technology allows us to manage food waste that composting alone could not. The FWD program not only promotes responsibility among students to decrease food waste, but allows GC to lead by example to other colleges and universities."

Additional benefits of the FWD include: reduction in grease tank accumulations and number of required pump outs resulting in efficient operation, reduction in use of trash bags, reduction of on-site food storage and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Since 1970, WI has been at the forefront of solid waste management, innovation and technology. "We want to make life tomorrow better today," comments Marcum. "By offering a food waste program and service that is easy, safe and environmentally friendly, we're making a difference in managing food waste responsibly. Waste is here today and gone tomorrow. Now you see it, now you don't."

About Waste Industries USA, Inc.: Founded in 1970, Waste Industries USA, Inc. provides solid waste services that protect the environment to commercial, governmental, industrial, municipal and residential customers. The company delivers sustainable, fiscally-responsible and environmental-friendly solutions to the Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, Delaware and Georgia. Waste Industries has been named by Forbes Magazine as one of the "200 Best Small Companies in America." Visit http://www.wasteindustries.com for additional information. HIGHER STANDARDS. LOWER IMPACT.

About Guilford College: Founded by Quakers in 1837, Guilford College provides a practical liberal arts education, emphasizing international perspectives and creative problem solving. Guided by the Quaker testimonies of community, equality, integrity, peace and simplicity, Guilford is featured in the latest edition of "Colleges That Change Lives." Guilford has also been named one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in the U.S. and Canada three years in a row, most recently in the 2012 publication "The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges." For more information, visit http://www.guilford.edu.

About Guilford Dining: Guilford Dining is a partnership between Meriwether Godsey and Guilford College providing dining services that focus on fresh, local, scratch food. We work to ensure that beyond carefully and creatively preparing each meal, we provide gracious service and strong stewardship of all our resources: natural, financial and human. For more information, visit http://www.guilforddining.com.