The 2012 RI Compost Conference and Trade Show

By Greg Gerritt,  Coordinator, RI Compost Initiative

The RI Compost Initiative is a project of the Environment Council of Rhode Island Education Fund, funded in part with a grant from the Community Catalyst Fund of Clean Air-Cool Planet.  For the  past 3 years we have been working to develop a compost industry in Rhode Island that would recycle (by composting) the 250 tons of food scrap that currently end up in the landfill each day.  The economics of composting are pretty weak in RI because the legislature sets the tip fees at the Central landfill, and the tip fee has not changed in 20 years despite all the other changes we have gone through.  While we work on policy issues and have been testifying at public hearings, the most useful work we can do is to bring together interested parties and help them form alliances, networks, and partnerships to create the industry despite the obstacles.

The 2012 RI Compost conference and trade show is the place to bring them together.  We have speakers ranging from the Executive Director of the US Composting Council to the Worm Ladies of Charlestown.  We are presenting a wide range of speakers from the industry, but more importantly we are offering a trade show with more than 30 exhibiters from  the industry.  It is in the trade show that the alliances and partnerships will be found and formed.

A Busy Year for Spencer-Van Etten Middle School’s Greenhouse Program

By Brenda J. Anderson, Spencer-Van Etten Middle School

The 7^th and 8^th grade students in my Greenhouse Program (GHP) at Spencer-Van Etten (S-VE) Middle School in Spencer, NY, plan big .  The students in this hands-on integrated elective continued their work from previous years of promoting Green Education in their building, district and community in a variety of exciting ways. 

Much of their planning and work focused on promoting the 2^nd Annual Green Week, March 14^th -18^th, 2011 in both the elementary and middle school buildings.  Students in all grades PreK-8 participated in trivia contests, lessons, recycling initiatives with www.terracycle.net and a recycling audit.  Eighth grade math students used data from previous waste audits to calculate the amount of waste that S-VE school district diverts from the landfill each year by composting and recycling (102,000 pounds annually!) while eighth grade science students studied the ecology of the compost pile, grew fresh mushrooms and prepared a class luncheon fit for a king.  The week culminated in a spectacular presentation about environmental issues by presenter Glenn Colton at both the elementary and middle levels.

In April, the Board of Education (BOE) and community members were given an opportunity to look into the endeavors of the GHP during a community expo prior to a BOE meeting.  Students shared initiatives in composting, recycling, reductions in plastic bag usage and raising money for their program through “upcycling” with Terracycle.  Students shared a composting DVD and spoke to members of the media about their successes.

In May, the 8^th grade class and some 7^th graders in the GHP took a trip to Cornell University for a series of workshops on water and soil quality, recycling and hydrofracking.  Students had opportunities to speak with community leaders in their fields and learn about related jobs.  The field trip ended at Aman Farm in Candor where S-VE sends all of its compostable waste.  Students learned about the farm firsthand, including how their lunch room waste is turned into usable compost and methane gas for electricity production.  Following the field trip, students in the GHP began editing video footage taken during the trip.  Their video, while still in production, intends to educate the larger community about the composting process from lunch pail waste to completed compost. 

Our final community educational endeavor, Party at the Pond, took place on June 4^th, 2011.  Students from Green Teams in both the elementary and middle buildings spent the day teaching community members about the dangers of plastic bags with an educational flyer and DVD.  Participants that visited the booth were able to create canvas grocery shopping bags to take home and use on their next visit to the store.  Students also helped booth visitors plant seeds using the compost collected from our own cafeteria waste and recycled yogurt cups. 

While GHP students are wrapping up the year, they are also busy planning events for the 2011-12 season.  Plans are underway for a trip to a local recycling center and to Ithaca College to see green buildings and college campuses in action.  Students who attend will be turn-key trainers for other students when they return from their buildings.  Several community workshops are also in the planning stages, including one to teach community members how to compost with worms.  Students also wish to create an environmental calendar for community distribution.

A heart-felt thank you goes out to the Community Catalyst Fund from the students and community of Spencer-Van Etten.  Your generous monetary contributions are helping to make all of our Green Dreams come true!

Zero-Waste Football?

By Olivia Marie Bulger

Summer Intern, Clean Air-Cool Planet

Football and composting; not two things one normally associates.  As a summer intern at CA-CP, my research on the successes and challenges of composting at the country’s colleges and universities led to the University of Colorado at Boulder, a place where sports meet sustainability in a whole new and entirely impressive way.

CU Boulder students began the first collegiate recycling program in 1976. A full-on compost system was started four years ago in the dining halls, and this past year in the student center and at campus-wide events. Not only has CU made the promise to reduce their impact as much as a university of 25,000 undergraduate students can, but they have agreed to go completely zero waste at their football stadium, which used to send ten tons of garbage per game to the landfill.

The idea was named the “‘Ralphie’s Green Stampede‘” and went into full swing at the kick-off of the 2008 fall football season. Such a commitment meant not only composting and recycling an estimated 80% on-site, but the Folsom Field Buffalos, as the CU Boulder teams are known, also invested in local carbon-reduction projects, such as Colorado Carbon Fund, to account for carbon from energy used to power the stadium, for travel to away games and other energy-related impacts. Certified by the United States EPA, Folsom Field became the first stadium in the nation, professional or collegiate, to take on the zero-waste pledge.

Environmental respect and advocacy has been a part of the University of Colorado at Boulder for the past four decades, since the university established a student-led Environmental Center on the first Earth Day in 1970, six months before the EPA was even founded. Newer projects include a strictly enforced LEED-certification for all new buildings on campus, one of the countries’ most successful and oldest collegiate recycling programs, and ever-present and strong student body awareness for some of the biggest environmental problems the world faces today.

To say the least, Boulder has always been a little ahead of the game and the numbers prove it. “Ralphie’s Green Stampede” helped CU Boulder to collect over 40 tons of recyclables and compostables from football games-diverting 80% of waste from landfills and increasing the recycling rate by 199%. Additionally, more than 300 gallons of fry oil from food preparation was turned into biodiesel for CU Boulder’s on campus bus system.

CU’s Environmental Center director, Dave Newport, says he’s seen an increase in the environmental actions and efforts of students on campus and he’s proud to see that continue as the CU Environmental Center partners with CU Athletics in the taking of this zero-waste pledge. He also mentioned that within a few years he sees the ultimate goal as a campus where trash cans disappear because they are not needed.

This no-trash concept has translated to details in the zero-waste effort: a food-service contract with Centerplate Inc., has resulted in all food and drink containers being compostable (corn and potato based plastics) or recyclable materials (bottles, cans, glass, cardboard, paper). A small amount of actual garbage was produced from non-converted items such as candy wrappers, which are separated from the compostable and recyclable materials.

Of course, such a program doesn’t come without a cost. Dave Newport estimates the start-up fee of such a program to be about $20,000. Fortunately, this cost has received high interest from local Boulder businesses and companies as an investment project. Newport says businesses like knowing their money is going to a sustainable cause and football offers an added attraction. Overall, CU Boulder has received a $250 thousand dollars in grant money to launch their zero-waste football program.

The CU Buff aren’t the only team greening their game; the Kansas University Jayhawks are proudly stepping into the environmental ring as well. Since 2004, their Tailgate GreenCans for the Community program has offered KU fans the opportunity to recycle their cans and bottles at before and mid-game festivities. But the fall football season of 2008 brought recycling to a whole new level with the fundraiser.

Turning green work into charity work, this Kansas-based non-profit organization collects an average of 6,000 cans per game, which brought more than $500 in recycling revenue for the 2008 season. Cans for Community volunteers distribute bags to KU fans to fill while they tailgate and then drop off into larger bins on their way into the game. New to last year’s season are six large recycling bins located at the entrances to Memorial Stadium. Local groups like the Lawrence Community Theatre, Douglas County Special Olympics, the Boys and Girls Club hope sold out games and a winning team are good news for Cans for Community, which anticipates picking up 200 pounds of cans per game to add a little extra ‘clink’ in the pocket of their community partners.

So there you have it: who ever knew football could be as green as the grass it’s played on. The efforts of these groups and universities show just how simple but important a little planning can be, especially when the payoff is that of undiminished natural resources in a world that still allows us to live fully and happily, and of course, enjoy a game of one of America’s favorite pastimes.