Industrial/Organic Creates Process to Recycle New York’s Food Waste

In 16 years, if all goes as planned, New York City will no longer send any trash to landfills. That includes the million-plus tons of food waste the city generates every year. But, like other cities that are trying to recycle organic waste, New York faces a challenge: there aren't yet enough places to take it.

The biggest composting facility on the East Coast was closed in 2014 because it smelled so foul, a problem compounded by the length of time it took the food to break down. Composting might work well if everyone had a backyard. But it turns out that it's a tricky thing to scale up, especially for the amount of food thrown out in a large city.

Biogas made from food waste that can be burned for electricity is another option, but it creates pollution. Instead, a new startup, Industrial/Organic, is attempting to develop a clean, indoor process that can turn food waste into near-odorless fertilizer and can be done within city limits.