Loop Closing Partners with Equinox selected for the D.C. Food Waste Innovation Grant!

DC’s Department of Small & Local Business Development (DSLBD) is supporting small food businesses to reduce food waste through their 2022 Food Waste Innovation Grant, and Equinox Restaurant received one of the grants! (see the assembly of the composter below)

Loop Closing is proud to partner with Equinox Restaurant on this project as it will demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of the decentralized approach for providing the necessary capacity to meet increasing public demand for composting and the District’s striving waste diversion goal.

The Zero Waste Omnibus Amendment Act, signed in December 2020, furthers the District of Columbia's goal of 80% waste diversion from landfills and incinerators by 2032. In order for this to be achieved, a solution for food waste needs to be a part of the equation. The Equinox Restaurant-Loop Closing composting collaboration will be a proof of concept for food producers, of which the larger generators will need to pivot to 100% food waste recycling with the DC government ban on food waste to landfills that goes into effect Jan 2023.

Restaurants and dining facilities in places around the US, including the dense urban areas in NYC's Manhattan at Pisticci restaurant and the rural regions near Washington, DC at Frostburg State University's dining hall, already operate on-site composting systems. NYC has a by-rule process for businesses to register their on-site composting system with the city for use without restrictions. DC followed suit in 2021 with new legislation making on-site composting by residences and businesses the law of the land that cannot be banned or restricted by government departments. This grant program provides the opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of this decentralized composting approach with on-site composting systems and apply the lessons learned from other jurisdictions in and throughout Washington DC.

Congrats, DC DLSBD, for working towards the goals of Sustainable DC 2.0 and future requirements of the Zero Waste Omnibus Act! We are appreciative of your efforts and your funding.