The University of Colorado at Boulder has teamed with the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation to create the "Colorado Food Waste Composting Guide."
The 29-page planning guide, which was prepared by CU Recycling Services with funding from OEMC, is designed specifically for Colorado institutions to help them choose the best method of food waste composting.
CU-Boulder was selected for this project because of its extensive experience in recycling and availability of student researchers, according to Jack DeBell, director of the project.Ìý
"It's exciting to bring very committed and capable students to this challenging task," said DeBell, who also is director of CU Recycling. "We're proud to return a service to our state."
Institutions like colleges, hospitals and correctional facilities typically serve more than 3,000 meals a day and generate significant amounts of food waste, according to DeBell. The organic scraps and food-related paper waste can make up 75 percent of the total weight of the waste from these institutions' cafeterias.
"When done properly, composting is a cost-effective strategy for diverting these materials from landfills," DeBell said. "It has the added benefit of creating valuable fertilizer that institutions can use on their grounds or generate revenue from."
The planning guide offers state institutions guidance to overcome some typical obstacles that have made recovering food waste difficult in the past. DeBell said some of the obstacles include difficulty in handling kitchen scraps, unproven technologies and composting methods, and regulatory compliance.
"Numerous sources were consulted for this institutional food waste composting guide," said Olga Erlich, OEMC recycling program manager.
"Our aim was not to reinvent composting, but rather to construct a practical guide designed for the state of Colorado. The purpose of the guide is to raise awareness of and serve as a resource for Colorado organizations considering composting," she said.
Several other groups contributed to the production of the "Colorado Institutional Food Waste Composting Guide" including Keystone Resort, Biocycle magazine, Eco-Cycle, Colorado Department of Public Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Colorado League of Women Voters of Boulder Valley.
Information about Colorado's regulatory framework, equipment vendors and existing composting operations is included in the guide.
CU Recycling advises other schools and institutions in Colorado and around the country, and operates a comprehensive program to divert materials from landfills. In 2000, the White House Task Force on Recycling selected CU Recycling as the nation's model campus recycling program. The program also has received awards for its recycling efforts from the EPA and the National Recycling Coalition.
OEMC serves as a statewide advocate of energy efficiency through its programs focusing on recycling, composting, wetlands, the development of distributed energy generation using microturbines and fuel cells and other emerging technologies, biomass and biofuels for Colorado's rural communities, residential and commercial energy standards and weatherization services to low-income households. Founded in 1977, OEMC is federally funded and uses no Colorado state tax dollars to support its activities.
Printed copies of the guide are available by contacting CU Recycling at (303) 492-8307. It can also be downloaded from the Web at or at .