Los Angeles County wins EPA National Sustainability Award

The Los Angeles County Public Works- Environmental Programs division has received a 2019 Food Recovery Challenge Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The national recognition is for the county’s substantial increase in food recovery and sustainable materials management.

EPA’s data-driven awards are based on information submitted by the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Data Management System and reflect percent changes when comparing an organization’s data to the previous year.

Los Angeles County Public Works serves 88 cities and a population of more the 10 million people. The county has continually pursued ways to make its communities more resilient by identifying new SMM actions to address greenhouse gases, waste generation and pollution.

“[Los Angeles] County Public Works has a vision for vibrant, waste-conscious communities served by cutting-edge 21st-century infrastructure,” says the county’s Public Works Director Mark Pestrella. “That includes developing programs and innovative approaches to waste reduction in partnership with local cities and under the guidance of our board of supervisors.”

In 2017, the “Scrape Your Plate” pilot program encouraged the county’s Public Works employees to divert food waste from area landfills through organics recycling. Collecting food in the headquarters cafeteria and dining area, the program quickly expanded to include 20 on-campus break rooms and special events at field facilities across the Los Angeles county.

Next, Public Works, in collaboration with the Sanitation Districts made use of the existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure to convert 13,700 pounds of food waste to electricity. Worm composting bins divert an additional 1,200 pounds of food waste and another 340 pounds were source reduced by improved planning by kitchen staff.

The project team, including Long Beach, California-based SCS Engineers, significantly reduced cross-contamination by increasing on-site signage and peer-to-peer outreach. The team further encouraged new social behaviors with an educational video.

Despite the closing of recycling programs in other cities due to the pandemic, Los Angeles County Public Works is now expanding its program to recycle other types of organic waste, including food-soiled paper.

“We congratulate [Los Angeles] County Public Works,” says Michelle Leonard of SCS Engineers, and the SCS Project Manager. “We are proud to be a part of the county’s team, and to see our outreach work successfully supporting organics recycling.”