PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The University of Maine Presque Isle is launching a new year-round composting project to put food waste to good use on campus thanks to a grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
UMPI recently received a $5,650 grant from the Maine DEP’s recycling and organics management initiative to turn its campus cafeteria food waste into compost for soil enrichment.
“This is going to help us not only to reduce waste but also to educate our students and others about food waste reduction,” said UMPI professor Jason Johnston, the project’s leader and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
The compost project is several years in the making and is a collaboration between UMPI’s agriculture and environmental sciences faculty, the campus Green Committee, and food service vendor Sodexo.
UMPI’s cafeteria produces about 200 pounds of food waste daily from meals, snacks and catered events. The composting system will take that food waste along with other biodegradable materials such as napkins to a designated spot near Gentile Hall.
The project is estimated to divert more than 23 tons of waste per year from the landfill waste stream. The grant will help fund the costs of labor, supplies, and transportation of composting materials for one year.
Johnston has been working with the DEP for several years to plan for the project and set up a proof of concept. The composting area consists of a 180-by-80-foot gravel base with several 30 yard piles of compost in different stages of decomposition.
The goal is to produce soil-ready compost that can be sold to area gardeners and growers, with revenue supporting the continuation of the project, as well as to provide educational experiences for area college and K-12 students, Johnston said.
“While composting is better than filling up the landfill with food waste, we hope to also highlight all of the issues around food: where it comes from, its nutritional value, environmental considerations, and the fact that many of our fellow students and neighbors don’t have reliable access to healthy food.”
