Richmond International Raceway has launched a new food rescue and composting program in partnership with Sustainable America and NOPE to reduce food waste from race weekends. Uneaten food will be donated to local soup kitchens and food scraps will be composted instead of sent to landfills. The goal is to educate fans on more sustainable practices like choosing appropriate portion sizes, sharing excess food, and composting food scraps that can be done at home.

1. Richmond International Raceway Goes Green with
Food Rescue & Composting Program
Partnership with Sustainable America and NOPE will reduce food waste and
support local soup kitchens in the Richmond area.
Food scrap recycling and composting today helps create a Sustainable Tomorrow, and that’s
just what Richmond International Raceway is doing as part of the NASCAR Race to Green™
program. In an effort to reduce food waste, RIR is launching a partnership with Sustainable
America and Natural Organic Process Enterprises (NOPE) to divert back-of-house food waste
on race weekends.
But it’s not just about this weekend. Americans waste 40% of the food we produce from farm to
fork according to the Food Waste Reduction Alliance. And roughly two-thirds of food waste
goes to landfills, leaving only one-third diverted to other useful purposes such as composting,
energy and fuels generation, animal feed and redistribution to people. Only 1% of food waste
generated makes it to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters that distribute food to Americans
in need. That’s an alarming number when you consider nearly 50 million Americans are living in
a state of food insecurity, meaning that they cannot always meet their basic food needs.
“We have to lead by example,” said Dennis Bickmeier, President of Richmond International
Raceway. “There’s a lot of ways that we can make a difference in our community, especially by
donating unused food from the weekend to local organizations who help provide food to Central
Virginia's most vulnerable residents. And the food rescue and composting efforts at RIR this
weekend is just the first step in diverting food waste. Our goal is to grow the program with each
race here at RIR. We already offer recycling receptacles and collection programs for our fans
and encourage carpooling, eventually we hope to bring the diversion process to our fans as
well.
It’s our job to help educate our fans and our community on ways to live a more sustainable
lifestyle,” continued Bickmeier. “A lot of what we’re doing here at RIR can be done at home
too.”
According to the US Department of Agriculture, 133 billion pounds of the 430 billion pounds of
available food supply at the consumer and retail level never gets eaten. We reject perfectly
edible food because it has dark spots. We eat less than we order in restaurants. We throw
away food too soon. Millions of tons of food fill landfills every year. About half of the food that
currently goes to landfills can be put to better use by composting. Food scraps and an
increasing number of disposable products can be composted rather than put in the trash.
“In this country, we devote 80 percent of our water and 10 percent of our energy to grow,
transport and cook our food,” noted Jeremy Kranowitz, Executive Director of Sustainable
America. “When you throw uneaten food away, you’re wasting money three ways – not only the
money you spent on food, but also indirectly increasing your energy and water bills, too. We
suggest people keep three words in mind: Choose, Share, and Restore. Choose the right
amount of food that you can eat; Share excess with your friends or with someone in need; and
Restore the Earth by turning what’s leftover to compost. That’s the path to wasting less, and
towards a more sustainable America.”

2. Non-perishable foods not used during race weekends are already donated to Feedmore,
Central Virginia’s Food Bank, a long-time partner of RIR. Now, through the partnership with
Sustainable America and NOPE, foods that are prepared but not served during the race
weekend will be donated to Good Samaritan Ministries to help feed the hungry in the Richmond
area. In addition, organic waste produced by food preparation will be diverted from landfills to a
compost facility in nearby Waverly, Virginia, which will generate and return biodegradable
nutrients back to the soil for future growth.
"Capturing food waste and converting it to a usable product is an important part of closing the
loop on sustainability, explained Chip Hall, President and Founder of Natural Organic Process
Enterprises. Studies have shown that 82% of what is discarded from kitchens is recoverable.
NOPE is excited to work with RIR on this important effort to turn what would normally be
discarded into something that benefits everyone."
You’ve probably heard something about composting, maybe even know someone who does it,
but maybe you’re not quite sure exactly what it is. It’s the process of converting food scraps,
paper and other natural materials into healthy, clean, fertile soil. The nutrients in the waste
items can be recovered in this manner and used to grow more food with less fertilizer needed.
Composting helps improve and protect our soils and the environment. It’s easier than you might
think and can be done not only at a large-scale sporting venue like RIR, you can compost at
home or at your office too. Composting can be as easy as throwing compostable materials
(potato peels, egg shells, grape stems, used napkins, uneaten food) into an old trash bin and
covering them with dead leaves and grass clippings. More information on home and office
composting can be found here.
So, what are you waiting for? You can join RIR, Sustainable America and NOPE in our efforts
to live a more sustainable lifestyle! Check out RIR’s new “green” page with helpful tips from
many of our partners. And be sure to do your part by recycling while you’re at RIR this weekend
for the TOYOTA OWNERS 400.
About Richmond International Raceway:
NASCAR returns to Richmond International Raceway April 24 & 25. And back by popular
demand, Track Takeover powered by Nationwide at RIR on Saturday, April 25. Fans can get
out onto the Action Track just hours before the green flag waves for the 2015 TOYOTA
OWNERS 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event, all you need is a ticket to the race! Tickets for
Saturday’s race, as well as the 2015 ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR XFINITY Series race on Friday
are on sale now. Click here or call 866-455-7223 to purchase.
About Sustainable America:
Sustainable America is a non-profit organization with a mission to reduce our nation’s oil
consumption by 50 percent and increase food availability by 50 percent, within the next two
decades. We raise awareness of these issues through educational outreach, and act as a
catalyst for the development and funding of innovative, entrepreneurial solutions to these
important issues. We research hundreds of small companies and help a select few grow to
change the marketplace for the better. More information about our work can be found at
www.sustainableamerica.org, www.iturnitoff.com, www.ivaluefood.com, and
www.sharedearth.com.
About Natural Organic Process Enterprises (NOPE):
Natural Organic Process Enterprises (NOPE) works with companies and institutions throughout
central and eastern Virginia to develop food scrap and organics recycling programs. NOPE
facilitates the collection and transportation of organic materials to a proper Virginia DEQ
permitted composting facility.
We know our actions impact our environment…today and well into the future. We consider our
earth, environment and ecosystem a great gift and privilege. We also consider it our

3. responsibility to take care of her such that our kids, grandkids and great-grandkids can flourish
just like us. We believe our calling is to make a positive impact on our environment.
We choose to be a part of the solution as opposed to part of the problem. Our company was
created with the purpose of pioneering, in our community awareness and availability of services
concerning composting/organic recycling. We seek to partner with like-minded companies and
institutions that are committed to integrate sustainability into their practices.