American Organic Energy is poised to play a major role in New York State’s newly proposed commercial organic recycling requirement. If passed, Governor Cuomo’ proposed 2018 budget will include organic waste diversion plans for businesses, which will have up to four years to comply.
American Organic Energy is set to break ground on an anaerobic digester facility that will have the capacity to serve the metro region. The facility will be able to process 180,000 tons of organic waste, including waste from places mentioned in the Governor’s plan such as: restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, colleges and universities, and nursing homes.
Waste Dive reports, “It remains unclear how widespread these processing options are in such a large and widely-rural state. Based on estimates from the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF), New York had 124 active composting facilities that processed 1.02 million tons of material in 2013. A sizable portion of this was likely yard waste. Though with large projects such as the American Organic Energy facility on Long Island in the works — and enough lead time for others to come online — processing options are expected to improve.”
Governor Cuomo enthusiastically announced his idea to divert organic waste to anaerobic digester facilities during last year’s budget proposal. The 2018 budget bill must be approved by April 1.