Spend two days learning everything you can about large-scale composting (such as by farms, cities, and commercial operations) so you understand it even more deeply and can do it even better. Beneficially. Sustainably. Non-odoriferously. The Ohio Compost Operators Education Course is March 26-27 at OARDC.
Posts Tagged ‘composting’
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Large-scale composting? This is how you do it
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on January 31st, 2013
EcoSummit preview: ‘None meet ASTM standards for biodegradability’
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on September 17th, 2012
More from Eddie Gomez on his EcoSummit presentation:
“The amount of carbon in various commercially available bioplastics and natural fibers converted to CO2 (and methane) was determined during soil incubation, composting, and anaerobic digestion.” (The materials included biopolymers made from corn starch and polylactic acid; natural fibers such as coconut coir; and conventional plastics amended with additives claiming to confer biodegradability.)
“Although certain biopolymers and natural fibers appear to biodegrade to an appreciable extent, none meet ASTM standards for biodegradability or compostability.
“Conventional plastics containing additives did not biodegrade differently than non-additive-containing plastics.”
EcoSummit preview: Alternatives to conventional plastics?
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on September 17th, 2012
From Eddie Gomez on his EcoSummit presentation:
“Plastics are increasingly causing pollution problems in natural environments due to their recalcitrant nature. Various new materials have recently begun to be marketed that claim to biodegrade or compost during waste treatment. These materials include conventional plastics amended with additives that are meant to confer biodegradability or compostability as well as plastics made from biopolymers, and natural-fiber-based materials.
“Different industries are particularly interested in these materials as alternatives to conventional plastics that are neither compostable nor biodegradable.”
View this Washington Post photo gallery as one example of plastics’ “recalcitrant nature.”
EcoSummit preview: Do bioplastics biodegrade?
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on September 17th, 2012
A look at some of the presentations by CFAES scientists at EcoSummit 2012, which starts Sept. 30:
“Biodegradation of Bioplastics and Natural Fibers During Composting, Anaerobic Digestion, and in Soil” by Eddie Gomez and Fred Michel, both of the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering. Part of the seminar titled “Ecological Engineering: Designing and Restoring Ecosystem Services,” Oct. 4, session 2, 4-5:45 p.m.
Read an article by Michel on bioplastics and global warming here.
To-do list …
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on August 14th, 2012
This Friday (8/17) is the deadline to register for Composting in Ohio 2012: A Tour of the Industry, which is Aug. 23 near Toledo. Here’s what you’ll see (pdf).
Tour: The state of the composting art (and science)
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on July 10th, 2012
Two innovative composting facilities in northwest Ohio, the Wood County Landfill and the Hirzel Farms Organic Composting Facility, will be the focus when Composting in Ohio 2012: A Tour of the Industry takes place next month. The Ohio Composting and Manure Management Program, which is part of our college, is a co-sponsor.
Sources of inspiration … and more
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on February 16th, 2012
How can farmers make the most of manure? Two coming workshops, one in western Ohio (pdf), one in northern (pdf), will show how to do just that. Focus: New uses, methods, and technologies. And: Protecting the environment. OARDC and OSU Extension are two of the sponsors.
Composting industry? Learn all about it
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on January 30th, 2012
Check out this course if you work in the composting industry, or want to, and want to learn all you can. For program details and a registration form, click here (pdf).
Earth Tub? See it in action (and more) on tour
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on July 22nd, 2011
Registration is open for Composting in Ohio 2011: A Tour of the Industry, set for Aug. 11 in northeast Ohio. You’ll get firsthand looks at the Medina County Municipal Solid Waste Processing Complex, the only Class I composting site in Ohio, which means it can take in a wide range of solid waste — mixed and from food, yards, and industry … Baldwin-Wallace College’s (Berea) industrial-scale Earth Tub food-waste composter, part of the school’s move toward greater sustainability … and Rosby Resource Recycling (Brooklyn Heights), which not only composts food and yard waste (Class II) but processes and recycles construction and demolition debris. Get full details.
Course on large-scale composting March 29-30
Posted by Kurt Knebusch on March 4th, 2011
OSU will host a workshop later this month on the science, art, and business of large-scale composting. The Ohio Compost Operator Education Course takes place March 29-30 at OARDC in Wooster. It’s an intensive program for compost facility operators and managers, public health officials, municipal solid waste managers, and other professionals. “This type of educational opportunity isn’t available elsewhere in Ohio, and it’s one of the leading programs in the nation,” said Fred Michel, one of the course’s instructors and an OARDC composting researcher. Registration details.
