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Printer-Friendly ModeDining services turning trash into eco-friendly treasure with "Can O'Worms"
March 17, 2008 —
A team of SVSU teachers, faculty, and students is putting the phrase "waste not, want not" to practice with a new project: "Can O' Worms."
The project, aimed at turning waste from Dining Services into organic fertilizer, will take on two major issues at once: reducing pollution output, and helping to start rebuilding Michigan's economy.
Brian Thomas, an SVSU sociology professor, said that the project seems a perfect fit for a state like Michigan.
"Even though Michigan is known for its manufacturing, it actually has the second most diverse agricultural sector of any state in the country," he said. "Because of this, Michigan is in an excellent position to meet the growing consumer demand for organic products."
According to a recent study at Michigan State University, if people were to eat more food grown in Michigan, it would add up to 1,889 new jobs across the state, and put $187 million into the pockets of Michigan residents.
The project itself, paid for with grants from the SVSU Foundation and the Allen Foundation, takes fruit and vegetable waste created during the food preparation at RFoC, coffee grinds from Starbucks, and shredded paper from the library, and feeds it to worms. From there, the worms help to create organic fertilizer, vermicompost, which can be sold to farmers working in the states growing organic agricultural industry.
Getting the project started at SVSU has been collaborative, bringing together students, professors in the chemistry, sociology, and mechanical engineering departments, and faculty working in the library and in Dining Services. Thomas said that it was a mixture of the right people being at the right place at the right time.
"Dr. Chris Schilling, Ed Meisel, Dr. Dulcey Simpkins, and Dr. Dave Swenson deserve credit for working the past few years to put SVSU in a position to help Michigan transition into this new era of agriculture," he said.
Thomas said that each member of the team brought something different to the project: Swenson developed the low-cost, high-efficiency greenhouse, while Meisel turned out ideas about worm production, and Schilling's work on biofuels helped create a food production system that works in cold environments.
Although the project is just getting started, there are already plans for expansion, using the project as a stepping-stone.
"We would like to expand the amount of organic waste we can dispose of," Thomas said. "Eventually, we would like to be able to handle all of the organic waste on campus and replicate our system at other institutions in the community."
Lindsay Carpenter, marketing manager of Dining Services, explained how not only the campus, but also the city would be positively affected by this program.
"The two goals from the Dining Services standpoint are to minimize the food waste by diverting it to the greenhouses, and to help create an awareness by students on environmental stewardship," she said.
While RFoC waste from students is not currently used in the project, Carpenter said that starting with campaigns promoting the idea starting next fall, the goal is to expand the amount of waste from Dining Services. This would include expanding the program to include local businesses, schools, restaurants, and hospitals. The only thing that will determine how large the project gets is the number of worms available.
With a low-energy greenhouse and an environmentally-friendly plan in place, Thomas speculated that SVSU could serve as a benchmark for a statewide effort to move Michigan to a more agricultural economy, an idea that has recently gained more support.
"Honestly, I think that 20 or even 10 years ago, people would have thought we were crazy if we told them we wanted to use worms to create fertilizer from leftovers," Thomas said. "Cultural change has created some great opportunities."
More information about this program is available on their Web site at www.greencardinal.org.