Earth Bio Technologies and Harvard University

November 20, 2023

We are pleased to welcome Earth Bio Technologies as a new Supporting Advisory Members to the Northeast Recycling Council

In 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that annual food loss and waste in the United States equaled the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), “when food ends up in landfills, it generates methane, an even more potent greenhouse gas.”


“The connection between food loss and waste and climate change is increasingly recognized as important,” USDA observed.

New NERC Advisory Member Earth Bio Technologies states, “Our mission is to enhance environmental initiatives, improve operations through prevention, and return bottom-line savings to our clients who drive the food service industry.” The company offers several proprietary formulas to biologically break down organic wastes in drain systems, grease traps & lift stations. The company also manufactures drain system safeguard solutions to prevent solids from causing blockages.


Noting that “roughly 35% of all food produced goes uneaten with most ending up in landfill as one of the largest waste streams by weight,” Earth Bio Tech developed a product it named Compolizer, which it describes as “as a remediation agent by accelerating the decomposition of organic material.” A recent development in the company’s extensive line of products is the ScrapDrain – Sink Solids Separator.


ScrapDrain “captures food scrap before it enters the drain line with greater capacity & finer collection,” the company states. “It keeps drains and septic systems clear from solids while helping to promote landfill diversion using compost options.”


A local new source in Earth Bio Tech’s hometown of Glendale PA covered the product launch in an article entitled Glenside’s EarthBio Technologies launches ScrapDrain.


The article reports:

“There is a long-standing belief that garbage disposals are eco-friendly. As Douglas Horner, managing director of EarthBio points out, ‘The operating facts suggest otherwise since garbage disposals use lots of electricity, loads of extra water, and produce a slurry of solids.’ This slurry, according to Horner, travels into our waterways to our wastewater treatment plants where the solids are screened out and trucked off to landfill.” “A cycle of futility”, Horner says.


ScrapDrain delivers 8x more capacity than the average sink strainer, the company reports. For residential applications, the food waste rinses into ScrapDrain where it is collected and strained. In a single motion, the stainless collection basket allows for simple transfer to the collection bin. For commercial applications, ScrapDrain prevents food solids from clogging the drain line and building up in the grease trap. As a result, the grease trap works more efficiently, and the drain lines stays clear and flowing.


Building upon its long history of addressing food waste and practical solutions to it, NERC welcomes Earth Bio Tech to its growing roster of Advisory Members. We look forward to cooperating with Earth Bio Tech in finding solutions to the issue of food waste.


For more information about Earth Bio Tech click here

Share Post

ReMA Partner NERC Opens Annual Emerging Professionals Program

By Recycled Materials Association • July 29, 2025
ReMA Partner NERC Opens Annual Emerging Professionals Program - Recycled Materials Association

Coke bottler’s switch to clear PET provides lessons learned

By Resource Recycling • June 18, 2025
A recent case study from the Northeast Recycling Council offers insights on transitioning packaging materials, gleaned from a regional Coca-Cola bottler that switched from green PET to clear for several of its products. The case study, part of NERC’s Guide to Increasing Recycling Supply , explores the process experienced by Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast. The local bottler sells drinks from Coke, Keurig Dr Pepper, Fairlife milk and others in New England and upstate New York. Coca-Cola North America announced in August 2022 it was switching to clear PET packaging for its Sprite, Fresca and Mello Yello drinks. Like other beverage brands, Coca-Cola sells concentrates and syrups to its nearly 70 bottling partners in North America for manufacture, packaging and distribution, but does not own or operate most local bottling companies, according to its website. The primary objective of the switch was to improve the quality of post-consumer PET bales by reducing color contamination, which in turn would improve bottle recyclability and increase the efficiency of plastic reprocessing, the report said. The company did not publish any formal goals, but the move aimed to help increase supply of PCR suitable for use in food-grade applications, according to NERC. Although the study acknowledges that Coca-Cola’s initiative was voluntary as part of its internal sustainability strategy, the lessons learned can be useful for other companies considering making changes. Read the full article here.

NERC states preference for mechanical recycling

By Waste Today Magazine • June 9, 2025
The Brattleboro, Vermont-based Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) has adopted a policy position on chemical recycling that was developed by a subcommittee of its Chemical Recycling Committee. NERC, whose members are drawn from 11 northeastern states, says the purpose of the policy statement is to articulate guiding principles for environmentally responsible chemical recycling of plastics, which it notes also is referred to as molecular or advanced recycling. NERC's Chemical Recycling Committee was established to better understand these processes and their environmental impacts to make informed policy decisions. In line with its mission of moving toward a more circular and sustainable economy, NERC says mechanical recycling currently is the preferred method of plastic waste processing, as it creates fewer environmental impacts than other currently available chemical recycling processes. View the full article here.