Baltimore firm aims to turn food waste into green business

Chesapeake Compost Works operating in Curtis Bay warehouse

Castoff food is the largest single component of the waste put in landfills and burned in trash incinerators, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. More than 34 million tons of food got tossed nationwide in 2010 alone, the EPA estimates, with only 3 percent of that diverted for composting. Recycling that food waste instead of burning or burying it can save money, advocates say, and converting it to compost can help grow new food by enhancing depleted soils. Keeping food out of landfills also helps fight global warming, proponents say, because the methane given off by rotting organic matter is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide in altering the earth's climate.

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