Composting. With proper management, food by-products can be kept out of the landfill and
instead be composted and added to the soil at appropriate rates. Composting has the following
benefits:
1. Low transportation costs. The by-products can be composted on site, and the resulting
humus can have a volume and weight reduction of up to 40 percent.
2. Low capital investment. Composting is a batch process that can be done by using
either a mound or a windrow system. In both systems all the by-products are managed
to accelerate biological breakdown.
3. Good for seasonal processors. For a company (such as a cannery) that only processes
food for several months a year, composting may be a suitable alternative to animal
feeding or land filling. Livestock producers may be unwilling to switch to a livestock
feed that is only available for a short period.
4. Long shelf life. Humus can be stored without spoiling and applied to enrich the soil as
needed.