The jury is out– no longer are we debating whether global
warming is indeed real, but instead we are discussing
technologies that will reduce our footprint of carbon dioxide
and methane emission. In a short period of time, we
are becoming a nation designing its road map to produce
its own fuels, energy, and electricity.
The Compost Club is right there, replicating small scale
compost systems at schools and businesses, keeping
“waste” at its source. Why is this significant? Food and
organic waste comprise nearly 50% of every trash can.
Organic material in the landfill produces methane. Methane
is 21x more deleterious than carbon dioxide in its
contribution towards global warming. The US EPA considers
landfills to be the #1 human source of methane production.
At 20%, Food waste is the #1 source of landfill
waste.
While landfills can cap the methane and produce electricity
and bio-fuels, most don’t. But lets step back– if we
educate our community in composting, we can potentially
hold back 20-50% of what ends up in a landfill in the first
place, and renew our resources. Recycling programs
work– California now recycles 52% of materials– but food
waste isn’t included in that category. Only 3% of Food
waste is diverted from the landfill.
That’s why we are here– we help schools and business
institute a composting routine, and keep it successful. We
are the pool service technicians of the compost world. But
most importantly, we are just one of many emerging fresh
approaches to reduce our global footprint.
Here’s an example of our innovative windfall approach:
When we heard that Windsor High School in Sonoma
County applied for California Department of Education
(CDE) funds to start a worm composting system, and allotted
$500 for the purchase of a simple composter, we offered
to match their funds to purchase an easy to maintain
commercially made system. We also initiated a challenge—
Sunrise Rotary of Santa Rosa offered to put $500
more towards a system if the Windsor Rotary Club would
do the same. Windsor Rotary’s response- “how
can we refuse such a great offer”. If Windsor
High gets CDE funds, their $500 just became
$2000. It doesn’t end there- this intrigued the
makers of the BioSafe™ compost system, who
retail their system for $3,000. They are ready to
work with us to get a system at the school at the
price the school can afford.
