Top Composting & Food Waste in Beverly, Massachusetts Ranked

For restaurants and food service businesses in Beverly, managing organic waste is not just an environmental consideration-it's a regulatory requirement and a significant operational factor. Massachusetts has positioned itself as a leader in waste diversion through its Commercial Food Material Disposal Ban, which mandates that businesses generating over half a ton of organic material per week must keep it out of landfills. This creates a critical need for reliable commercial food scrap collection and composting services. Fortunately, Beverly offers access to several private haulers who can help establishments turn a potential liability into a resource, potentially reducing overall waste disposal costs while complying with state law.

Recycle Boston

516 E 2nd St, Boston, MA 02127

Recycle Boston is a waste management company based in Brookline, MA, specializing in food waste composting and recycling services for restaurants and other businesses. They focus on improving business recycling processes by offering solutions for various materials including compostable waste, recycled plastics, reused wood, and e-waste. Their approach emphasizes sustainability and resource conservation through innovative recycling technology and community initiatives. Recycle Boston supports local businesses by providing access to sustainability resources and promoting green certification as a business advantage. The company is known for offering same-day pickup services and efficient scheduling to accommodate customer needs.

4.8

117 Reviews

Bootstrap Compost

17 Dalrymple St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Bootstrap Compost provides food waste and composting services for restaurants in Newton, MA. The company focuses on collecting organic waste to support sustainable composting practices in the local community.

5.0

1 Reviews

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Understanding the Massachusetts Organic Waste Ban

The cornerstone of commercial food waste management in Beverly is the state-wide disposal ban enforced by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). As of November 2022, any business or institution that generates one thousand pounds (0.5 tons) or more of food scraps per week is prohibited from sending this material to a landfill or incinerator^{1 2}. This regulation directly impacts many restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, hospitals, and large cafeterias.

What qualifies as banned organic material? The ban typically includes:

• Pre- and post-consumer food scraps
• Fruits and vegetables
• Coffee grounds and filters, tea bags
• Eggshells and nutshells
• Baked goods and grains

It's important to note that while the state ban provides a baseline, individual hauling and composting services may have their own specific lists of accepted and prohibited materials. Some facilities can process meat, bones, dairy, and fats, while others cannot due to their composting process^{2 3}. Always confirm with your service provider.

Available Commercial Composting Services in Beverly

Beverly does not provide municipal curbside collection for commercial food waste, so businesses must contract with private haulers. These providers supply the necessary containers, liners, and scheduled pickups to fit your operation's scale and needs.

Local Service Providers:

• City Compost: A popular local option offering weekly service for approximately $5 per week, plus a one-time $7 startup fee for a 5-gallon bin. This service includes a clean bin swap and often allows customers to receive finished compost for personal or landscaping use^{4 5}.
• Bootstrap Compost: Another regional service operating in the area, with pricing around $11 per week for pickup services^{4 5}.
• Other Private Haulers: Several other regional waste management companies service the North Shore and may offer commercial organic waste collection. It is advisable to contact multiple providers for quotes and service details tailored to a restaurant's volume, which may require larger bins or dumpsters^{4 6}.

Container and Logistics: Providers typically supply durable, watertight, and rodent-proof containers, such as 5-gallon or 64-gallon carts, often with compostable liner bags^{4 7}. Pickup schedules can usually be arranged weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly depending on your waste generation rate⁴.

The Financial Case for Food Waste Diversion

Implementing a food scrap recycling program involves a direct service fee, but the overall financial impact can be neutral or even positive when viewed holistically.

Costs:

• Service Fees: As noted, private hauling services charge a weekly or monthly fee. For example, City Compost costs roughly $260 annually plus startup, while Bootstrap is approximately $572 per year^{4 5}.
• Potential Upfront Costs: These may include purchasing additional interior bins for kitchen staff or minor staff training time.

Savings and Offsets: The most significant financial benefit comes from reducing your traditional trash disposal costs. By diverting heavy, wet organic material from your trash dumpster, you may be able to:

• Reduce the frequency of trash pickups (e.g., from 5 times a week to 3).
• Downsize to a smaller trash dumpster.
• Avoid excess weight charges.

For many businesses, the savings on trash hauling bills can effectively offset the new cost of compost service^{4 5}. Furthermore, diverting waste supports corporate sustainability goals, which can be a valuable marketing point for environmentally conscious customers.

Implementing a Program in Your Restaurant

Starting a successful organics diversion program requires planning and staff engagement. Here is a practical step-by-step approach:

1. Conduct a Waste Audit: Before calling providers, estimate your weekly food scrap output. Spend a week collecting and weighing prep scraps, plate waste, and expired food. This will tell you if you hit the 1,000-pound state threshold and help you determine the size and frequency of service you need⁶.
2. Research and Contact Providers: Reach out to local services like City Compost and Bootstrap Compost, as well as larger waste management companies. Request quotes, ask about container sizes, pickup schedules, and contract terms^{4 5}.
3. Clarify Acceptance Rules: Have a detailed conversation about what materials the hauler and their processing facility accept. Can they take meat, bones, dairy, and oily foods? What type of liner bags are required? What constitutes contamination (e.g., plastic, glass, styrofoam)^{2 8 9}?
4. Set Up Internal Systems: Place clearly labeled collection bins in key areas: prep stations, dish pits, and potentially wait stations. Use color-coding or distinct shapes to differentiate from trash and recycling. Ensure bins have tight-fitting lids.
5. Train Your Team: Educate all staff-from chefs to dishwashers to servers-on what goes in the compost bin versus trash or recycling. Simple signage with pictures can drastically reduce contamination. Emphasize that proper sorting is key to the program's success and regulatory compliance.
6. Monitor and Adjust: Check the compost bins periodically for contamination. Provide feedback to staff. After a month or two, review your trash and compost volumes with your haulers to see if you can optimize service levels and costs.

Avoiding Contamination: Keeping Your Stream Clean

Contamination is the primary challenge for food scrap recycling. A bin filled with plastic wrap, rubber gloves, or styrofoam containers can cause an entire load to be rejected at the composting facility, resulting in extra fees or service cancellation.

Common Contaminants to Exclude:

• Plastic bags (unless specifically certified compostable by your hauler)
• Packaging materials, plastic wrap, rubber gloves
• Glass, metal, or styrofoam
• Liquids and cooking oils (these require separate grease trap or used oil recycling services)^{2 8}

Best Practices:

• Use only hauler-approved compostable liner bags.
• Post clear, multilingual signage above bins.
• Consider a "pre-sort" station where staff dump scraps from non-compostable serving ware before dishwashing.

Beyond Composting: Grease and Oil Management

While food scraps are a major waste stream, full-service restaurants must also manage used cooking oil (UCO) and grease trap waste. These materials are not suitable for standard composting but are highly recyclable. Many waste oil collection companies will provide a storage container and collect the UCO for free, as it is refined into biodiesel or other products. Regular grease trap pumping is essential for compliance with local sewer ordinances and to prevent backups⁹. Often, companies that provide grease trap services also offer used oil collection or food waste hauling, allowing for consolidated service.

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