DAY 2 - COMPOST CONFERENCE 2019

Posting twice in one day because yesterday was a looooong day!

I'll start with some good news. New Jersey has officially started a chapter as of August 2018! This would allow scientists and students around the state to do research through the Composting Council Research & Education Foundation and be recognized by the United States Composting Council (USCC).

I was able to sit in on the annual meeting for the Compostable Products Task force, sponsored by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). The purpose of this meeting is to meet with members of the USCC to the issues surrounding biodegradable products. Actually, I was corrected after I misused the word "biodegradable" when I actually meant "compostable" with regards to speaking up about how our college campus uses these products and we are interested in learning more about how to compost them properly. This is actually a topic that deserves a lot of attention so let's talk about that for a bit.

I linked the phrase above to BPI's page about what the differences between the two terms is, but it brings up the issue with regards to the waste diversion system. One of the important differences between these terms is that "biodegradable" has no ties to how long it takes to degrade naturally. For example, it takes a plastic bottle almost 500 years to decompose naturally (here is a link to more examples). Yes, it is technically biodegradable, but it cannot be returned back the earth within our lifetime. Instead, if we are looking to utilize a single-use fork, we should opt for a compostable type (preferably a reusable type like silver metal one that can be washed!). This could be wood, or Eco Product's Vine Cutlery made of polylactic acid (PLA). I spoke to a representative from Eco Products who gave me a catalog to read through to see the varieties of eco-friendly products available as an alternative to the traditional plastics. Here is a LINK to their line of forks; note that only two of these options are compostable and the others are not compostable, such as their Plant Starch Cutlery option.

Going back to the conference... I walked away from this meeting with contact information from one of the USCC members to let them know I have students back home who are willing to do research to contribute to their database of how our composting efforts measure up!

Another session I visited was by Assaf Sadeh from the Soil Control Lab in Watsonville, CA. By the way, he says he would be happy to test our compost from our Rocket system free of charge! His talk discussed the many ways in which we can analyze our compost quality.

After this session, I attended three sessions by sustainability advocates at different universities:

• Nicole Berg from the University of Michigan gave a talk about how she introduced a post-consumer composting program at her university. 
• Lotus Thai (who is also a fellow SCUBA diver!) talked about how she does waste audits and flaunted her amazing program at the University of California, Irvine. California, as we may already know, is a champion when it comes to their sustainability efforts. UC Irvine's sustainability program has reached nirvana as far as I'm concerned when it comes to establishing successful composting programs. 
• Julie Muir from Stanford University talked about how Stanford (yes, the big school that everyone wants to get into!) takes more of a community outreach approach to getting their students and faculty involved. 

Some things I got from these sessions: 

1. A lot of these efforts are funded by the Office of the President
2. Each department from their university puts aside funding to contribute to these efforts.
3. I am jealous of their successful programs. 

In closing, we have a lot of work to do! Hopefully with the new chapter of the USCC in New Jersey, we will be able to make BCC known to the public and show that we too want to help New Jersey reach its sustainability goals. 

DAY 1 - COMPOST CONFERENCE 2019

Greetings from sunny Arizona! Linda Araya here, project mentor for the composting project at Bergen Community College (BCC), and I am at the Compost 2019 conference hosted by the United States Composting Council whose goal is to create awareness in the benefits of composting for healthier soil, cleaner air and water, and a more stable climate. Many of the attendees at this conference are industrial farmers, business owners, and students and we are all interested in learning more about composting and its glorious benefits.

Here is a summary of Day 1 at the conference (click the links for more information):

Today's workshop was special because it was all about vermicomposting! Dr. Rhonda Sherman from North Carolina State University is an expert at worm farming and held a workshop titled "Boost Profits for Your Composting Operation with Value-Added Products" to teach us all about the benefits of vermicomposting, how it is different from composting, and also shared some tips for those interested in getting started in vermicomposting on a small or large scale. She also wrote a handbook for those looking into getting started and contains 25 years worth of information she has gathered throughout her work as a vermicomposting scientist.

So I learned something new today... vermicomposting is not composting! Vermicompost is not compost. Vermicompost tea is not liquid from the worm bin. Let that sink in for a bit. I knew I was entering territory outside of my expertise although I was able to answer a lot of the questions about the biology of compost (if I can find a link to her presentation, I'll try to link it here somewhere.) At BCC, we utilize an industrial composter called the Rocket composting system. We are a bit spoiled because it removes a lot of the labor we would otherwise have to put in for the amount of effort it actually takes to compost in a traditional manner. However, with vermicomposting it only takes between 40 and 60 days to gain beautiful, rich soil. For those of you who think of soil as "just dirt" know that even though to our eyes it may not look like much it is actually filled with life and lots of chemistry, we just can't see it. With vermicomposting, the stars of the show are the worms Eisenia fetida. Their poop is what everyone is after. Their excrement creates businesses, increases crop yield, and is highly coveted (if you are interested in learning about earthworm husbandry the right way, click HERE). You can do this either on a small scale in your kitchen or on a larger scale and make it into a business. There are many ways you can make it profitable with minimal startup costs. The thing that vermicomposting and traditional composting have in common is the fact that they are both ways to help you reduce your food waste. The ways that you do them are very different, but they each help tackle the food waste issue.

After this amazing talk Mr. Zach Brooks, owner of the Arizona Worm Farm, talked to us about his dream that he built and made it into a reality. He was able to purchase land and begin his business where he sells "worm castings" (aka worm poop), vermicompost tea (NOT for drinking), and worms! (I found this podcast where he talks about his farm HERE). After his talk, we took a drive over to the farm. Here are some pictures from the day.

A Meeting With Culinary Staff

I'm proud to announce that we had a very wonderful meeting with the culinary staff on our campus!  Both Professor Zilkha and Professor Wilson not only were on board with our program but were outright excited to join forces with us to support our ongoing efforts to make our campus waste less and be more green!  Starting the week of January 28th, we will be collecting food waste from not only the cafeteria as per usual, but also the culinary classes in Pitkin AND in Ender Hall!  That's THREE pickups per day of food that would otherwise be put directly in the trash.  I know I don't only speak for myself when I say I am so happy and proud of all the people who want to help us and the opportunities we're opening up.  We still have a lot to do to, but this is a HUGE milestone in our goal of one day having our whole campus united under our campaign.  Go team!

- Mallory E.