“There’s a ton of misinformation about how our waste stream works, so much of my time is spent pulling back the curtain to reveal the truth about recycling, composting, and landfilling to inspire change,” says Brent Crampton the Director of Partnership at Hillside Solutions in Omaha, Nebraska.
Hillside Solutions was created in 2017 to connect schools, apartment communities, and businesses with the landfill, recycling, and compostable hauling services of Gretna Sanitation and the commercial composting process of Soil Dynamics. In essence, Hillside Solution's is the waste hauling company of the future — one focused on diverting materials from the landfill, providing people with sustainable alternatives, and enabling our community to live a zero waste lifestyle.
Brent spends his days “activating people into the world of treating their waste as a resource while helping to usher in our forthcoming shift to Zero Waste culture.”
Company History Documentary Short
Why did you decide to be a part of Hillside Solutions?
When I woke up on January 1st, 2017, the world was a very different place. I had just ended a 17-year career as a full-time DJ and event promoter, in which 5 of those years I was also a nightclub owner. But then Trump was president, and I felt the carefree era of Millennial nightlife was over, and it was now time to go in my corner and get some work done. So I took a year to figure out what that meant. And as I listened to the quiet voice inside me, I kept envisioning myself in the sustainability industry.
Then it hit me on the head one Friday night when I was invited to participate in my one and only Shabbat dinner experience. At that dinner, while drinking wine and breaking bread as a gentile with a wonderful Jewish couple, I was handed the job I’m in now.
How is Hillside Solutions different than any other waste management?
We’re different from most waste companies in that we own an industrial composting facility instead of a landfill. That one decision completely overhauls our priorities because we’re no longer incentivized to landfill waste. We’re incentivized to compost it.
From what I’m told by industry insiders, it’s rare to have an organization like ours that hauls landfill, recycling, and composting material, plus composts our own material, plus produces and sells an aftermarket soil and mulch product.
Why do you think people don't compost or recycle?
I think a lot of people do recycle, I just don’t think many of them do it very well. And to overcome that hurdle, we need to teach it to the children as a standard curriculum, we need federal legislation that standardizes recycling practices nationwide, and require corporations to use a standard lexicon for labeling single-use items so people understand what type of material it is and where they should dispose of it. Composting isn’t normalized yet because people don’t understand it. Most people think sending food waste to the landfill is safe. But in fact, when we put an innocent head of lettuce in an anaerobic landfill environment, we’re weaponizing that flimsy ball of vegetable flesh to put off noxious, climate-warming methane gas for the next two decades.
What are the benefits of composting and recycling?
People understand the need for recycling. The basic concept that humans make things and we should reuse those things is easy to grasp.
But part of my job is to spread the idea that composting is just nature’s version of recycling. The two are equally important but most are sleeping at the wheel when it comes to understanding the urgency to compost.
See, climate change has been sold to us as this really, incredibly difficult problem to solve. But if you watch movies like Kiss The Ground on Netflix, you can plainly see that the number one thing we need to do is not drive electric cars. It grows food without tilling or the use of chemicals. And the best (and more appropriate) substitute for chemicals is compost.
Here’s how it works: Our addiction to fossil fuels has taken all of that carbon from the ground and spewed it into the atmosphere. That’s caused climate change.
Now we need to suck all of that carbon from the atmosphere back into the ground. And the way you do that is by the simple but revolutionary act of growing things. These plants draw that carbon back into the ground, then microbial life consumes the carbon, and then produces nutrients that feed the plant. Those nutrients make our food taste better, help more plants to grow, and continue to suck more carbon from the air. That’s what will fix climate change. It’s that simple (except for the fact that we need to get rid of farming subsidies while overhauling the industrial agricultural complex, but that’s another blog post).
How to compost at home without spending a dime
Can you explain the process of recycling and composting. So once you have collected it, sorted it. What happens next? And what does the final stage look like? And what do you do with it?
We mix food waste with oxygen, water, and a whole lot of yard trimmings and manure, which is like sending out a massive block party invite to microbial life to have an Ancient Rome-like “Eat til ya throw up” type feast/bender that lasts 1-2 months.
But instead of leaving smallpox and malaria behind like our imperialistic ancestor friends, the microbes merely leave behind nutrient-dense soil that reverses the effects of climate change. From there we mix the compost into soil blends and sell it to contractors, landscapers, farmers, and hobby gardeners. Whereas recyclables can wind up halfway around the world, the end result of composting always stays local.
Here is something I noticed recently. I was out at a restaurant and due to COVID everything is in take-out containers and it's nice that people are using compostable take-out boxes but what I noticed is that I do not see people or the restaurant actually composting it. So my question is, that if the take-out containers are compostable and its mix in with other trash does it compost? I am assuming that the compostable containers that are mixed in with other items do they break down quicker than the ones that aren't. But in order for any waste to be resourced again doesn't it all have to be separated properly?
Back in 2018, plastic straws got beat up in the media narrative pretty badly. Which was great because it introduced the conversation to a wider audience that explored the effects of single-use plastics. Another great result was that many restaurants are now ditching styrofoam and converting to compostable packaging and service ware.
But the bad news is that the story ends there for most restaurants. If they picked the book back up, they’d read that if compostable service ware goes to the landfill, it puts off methane gas for a few decades. If it goes to recycling centers, it slows them down and costs money to get it off the line. And if it winds up in your backyard compost pile, your pile isn’t vigorous enough to break it down. But if it comes to an industrial composting facility like ours, its eco-destiny will be fulfilled.
The truth about paper straws relating to compostable serviceware
Also, in one instance this particular waste management says they do not service animal waste. I questioned if this means pet poop. I know there are a handful of definitions of what "Animal Waste" may mean. How does pet poop get sorted out in the trash? I guess I am curious about how this is managed.
Need more context to properly answer. Feel free to call.
What are the things that are considered TRASH? What wastes should we avoid?
Depends on where you live and what kind of infrastructure access you have, but gum (because most of it has plastic in it), single-use baby diapers, and those dumb Starbuck’s cups that have a plastic lining (which also mean you’re drinking microplastics) are some proper landfill items.
What are some challenges you face with waste management?
Out of all utilities, waste management is the lowest by a far margin, which inhibits innovation. A lot of communities are still paying for and getting the cable box TV service of trash. But cloud streaming any show you want at any time on any device is here, if we want it.
Is it important to manage the waste or reduce the waste?
If we flip to the end of the “How We Survived Climate Change” book, the story doesn’t say, “And everyone recycled and composted everything.” It says, “and everyone reduced, reused, refused, and rethought our use of waste.”
A look into our composting process
What are some of the most common things you see schools and businesses recycle?
Cardboard. It’s the easiest.
From my understanding, there are different numbers of plastics to indicate what type of plastic it is based on how it is made. And the purpose of the number is to identify that because some plastics aren't recyclable. What are some plastics that are recyclable and what are some that aren't? Just so we know NOT to get them if we HAVE to!
Depends on where you live, but in most places, plastics #1, 2, 3, and 5 are easily recyclable. But since many products don’t label, it’s better to focus on hard, rigid plastics (like water bottles, milk jugs, and detergent containers), since those are usually the most easily recyclable.
There are a couple of articles floating around that indicating that recycling is BS, What would you say to people who have lost faith in recycling?
Recycling is still relevant, but if you’re depending on it to fix the waste problem, you’re missing the point. It’s one cog in a big wheel of solutions we need.
This addresses your question about why people think recycling is bogus, and then some
What is the biggest thing people get wrong about recycling?
Assuming all plastics are recyclable.
What can people do who are passionate about the earth and the trash problem?
Hold corporations accountable and vote for pro-climate candidates.
Why is Hillside Solutions mission important?
Solid waste is the gateway to sustainability.