Transcript GREEN EARTH - Massachusetts Farm to School Project

Composting at School
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Jan. 13, 2015
Why Compost?
• Reduce waste requiring disposal
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
sequester carbon in the soil (as humus)
• Recycle nutrients and organic matter for
plants – great for gardens!
• Saves money in avoided disposal costs
and reduced purchases of soil amendment
• Great educational opportunity
How Much Compostable Material is in the
Massachusetts Waste Stream? About 25%
Bulk Rigid Plastic
Items , 3.1
Other “brown
goods”, 3.3
Bio-Hazardous ,
2.9
Other Film
means plastic
film , 3.3
Bulky
Materials , 3.8
Prunings,
Trimings, Leaves
and Grass , 4.1
Carpet and
Carpet Padding ,
Uncoated
4.1
Corrugated
Other Recyclable
Cardboard/Kraft
Paper , 4.4
Paper , 4.4
Food Waste ,
15.2
Textiles , 5.8
Compostable
Paper , 5.2
Wood –
Treated , 4.5
Solid Waste Master Plan
• Food waste /other organics ~24% of
disposal
• > 1 million tons per year (food,
compostable paper, yard waste)
• Goal to divert add’l 350,000 tons/year of
organics from disposal by 2020
• Funding for capacity development (esp.
organics-to-energy projects)
Food Waste Disposal Ban
• Food waste and vegetative material
• Commercial/institutional generators that
dispose of 1 ton food waste or more per
week
• Schools with fewer than 4,000 students
are not likely to dispose 1 ton per week
• Ban effective October 1, 2014
• Assistance available at
http://www.recyclingworksma.com
Applicable Regulations
310 CMR 16 - Site Assignment
Regulations for Solid Waste Facilities
• Schools that compost on-site (of anything other than
garden/yard waste) are exempt from permitting under
the solid waste regulations (310 CMR 16.03(2)(c)2), but
must:
• Notify their local Board of Health and regional office of
MassDEP 30 days in advance of starting the program,
as a “Small Composting Operation not at a Residence.”
• The notification form you may use is on the MassDEP
website at
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/service/app
rovals/notification-exempt-recycling-and-organicsmanagement.html.
What can be composted?
• Anything that was once alive, including:
• Food waste;
• Paper and paper products (paper plates, napkins,
cardboard, coffee filters, etc.);
• Yard waste – leaves, pine needles, grass clippings,
weeds, prunings, woodchips, sawdust;
• Manure
• Seaweed and the list goes on
but exactly which organic materials are
composted depends on the composting
system used.
How many ways are
there to compost?
• Many, including:
• On-site in bins, containers, buckets, worm bins,
and piles
• Municipal and on-farm in windrows, piles or
drums
• Commercial systems in enclosed containment
vessels
• Aerobically, which produces CO2 and humus
• Anaerobically, which produces CH4 (methane)
and happens inside our stomachs
Food Scraps
• Greater potential for odors than leaves
and yard waste
• Fruit, vegetables – least odorous
• Meat, dairy – more odorous and
pathogenic
Green Team Resources
Website – www.thegreenteam.org
FREE to Green Team Members:
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Lesson plans and activities
Compost bins
Worms
Recycling equipment
Lending Library
Food Waste Reduction Guidance at
http://www.thegreenteam.org/recyclingfacts/food-waste-reduction/
More Resources
Web Sites
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/recycle/reduce/
composting-and-organics.html
http://cwmi.css.cornell.edu/composting.htm
http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2718&q=325344&d
eepNav_GID=1645www.mastercomposter.com
Soil and Compost Testing Laboratory
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003-8010
413-545-2311; 413-545-1931 fax
http://soiltest.umass.edu
Books
• Minnich, J. and Marjorie Hunt. 1979. Rodale
Guide to Composting, Rodale Press, Emmaus,
PA
• Appelhof, Mary. 2000. Worms Eat My Garbage,
2nd Ed. Flower Press, Kalamazoo, MI.
Journals
• Biocycle, pub. JG Press, Emmaus, PA.
• Organic Gardening, pub. Rodale, Inc., Emmaus,
PA.
Contact Information
Ann McGovern
Mass. Dept of Environmental Protection
One Winter St.
Boston, MA 02108
617-292-5834
[email protected]
Sumner Martinson
617-292-5969
[email protected]
MassDEP regional offices:
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/about/contacts/