Food Scraps Program for SeaWorld San Diego

Evolution of Food Recycling Program

May 2006• City of San Diego decides greenery must be separated

from food• Once food was separated from greens/landscape

materials, excess liquid from food became an issue at the landfill• Contamination of food scraps was the next hurdle• Not all culinary facilities were participating• Not enough food collection bins• City placed our program on probation due to

contamination and anaerobic issues

Next Steps• Met with Culinary Management to address probation

status with city and problems plaguing the food scraps program

• City conducted on-site training for management and for non-English speaking team members

• Created signage to put ondumpsters to help educate andremind team members of the Do’s and Don’ts

Implementation• Conducted daily audits at all Culinary facilities, provided

feedback on results to leadership

• Handed out gas cards to reward team members who recycled correctly – big success!

• Followed all compactor loads to the Miramar Greenery for 8 weeks eventually removed from probation status

• Approved to buy additionalfood recycling dumpsters and kitchen collection bins

Collection Process Today

Pre-consumer fruits, vegetables, breads, pastries, meat, paper towels and any leftovers are collected in smallgreen bins inside the kitchen back areas where the food prep takes place

Collection Process Continued• Green bins are taken to the food scrap dumpster & emptied

• Dumpsters are kept locked to keep contaminants out

• Team members (upper management all the way to line employees) are critical to the success

• Next….

Dumpsters taken to the compactor• Checked daily to eliminate contamination

Next stop is the Miramar Greenery

Accomplishments

2010: 606,380lb (303 tons) composted

2011: 778,740lb (389 tons) composted Benefits

• Costs 50% less to send to greenery per pound

• Provides nutrient rich compost to San Diegans

Thank You