The Urban Farm, above, is a place
for community members to plant
and harvest foods. The new
composter will enable the farm to
add nutrients to the soil with natural
fertilizer. Service Learning Program
Coordinator Steve Mital, left, looks
over a new composter that will break
down old food from the EMU and
residence halls and create compost
for the Urban Farm.
Danielle Hickey | Photo editor
Earth Tub will turn food
waste into fertile compost
A new composting system will reduce the amount
of food waste the University leaves in landfills
BY ADAM CHERRY
NEWS REPORTER
The University took another step to
ward environmental responsibility on
Friday with the addition of a new com
posting device intended to decrease
the amount of food waste that ends up
in the dump.
The University’s acquisition of the
Earth Hib, a commercial composting
system that will allow waste to be
processed more easily and quickly
than by using conventional methods,
ends a year-long quest for University
Sustainability Coordinator Steve Mital.
“It’s a great opportunity to close a
loop,” Mital said. “We have food waste
that’s produced on campus. We have
an urban garden that needs compost
delivered to it frequently. ”
In 2003, Mital and a team of stu
dents released a report that analyzed
the waste produced by EMU Food Ser
vices in an Environmental Studies Ser
vice Learning Program project. They
concluded that an Earth Hib was a
good way to reduce the amount of
food waste the EMU sent to landfills.
Premier Travel
• vmarc Specials! •
Nov Orleans - $198.00
Mexico Oils - $220.00
I-Vu n kin ri - $374.00
Maui - $422.00
l.l\ ;mvl I-.'.'X IK I IIK'luik'il. Ti--Ilk' toils
‘•'til'kk't to ch.iitfL- w i'll.ml rufliiV
ha\e S I l 1)1 N I discounts!
r.-inail: lares a lu\2tras el.com
1011 Harlow
1747-0909
i Student Travel Expefts
Food waste that enters a landfill
does not decompose, according to the
report. It decays, releasing carbon
dioxide and methane, both of which
are greenhouse gasses. Decaying ma
terials can seep into water and land,
causing further pollution.
According to the report, a five-day
waste audit in winter 2003 found the
EMU generated 9.67 cubic-yards of
food waste, 41 percent of which was
deemed “potentially compostable.”
University Housing will be the pri
mary contributor to the composting
program.
“To get anything going as far as
composting is a good thing,” said Tom
Driscoll, food services director for Uni
versity Housing.
The EMU will participate in the pro
gram as well.
“We don’t generate a lot of wasted
food (at the EMU) ” due to food op
tions and independent food vendors,
said John Costello, food services di
rector for the EMU. “We’d certainly
be interested in participating as much
as we could.
The University bought the Earth Tlib
for “less than $1” from the Eugene 4J
school district, and will spend $1000
$2000 on installation, Mital said.
Mital and Anne Donahue, a com
post specialist for the City of Eugene,
highlighted the benefits of the Earth
Tlib over regular composting methods.
“It guarantees that you can compost
very quickly. (It’s three weeks) from
the time that you throw food waste in
here to the time that you pull out com
post ready to put on your garden,
whereas a traditional compost pile can
take months,” Mital said. “It’s very
low-labor because it has a motor. ”
The tub will kill any pathogens in
the compost mix within 72 hours,
Donahue said.
Odor is a concern for customers
who compost, but the Earth Tlib is de
signed to neutralize any bad smells by
using microorganisms to pull any
odors out of the air coming off the
Earth Tlib, Donahue said.
“It’s easy; it’s a nice educational op
portunity for people participating in ur
ban garden,” Mital said. “It’s a no
brainer when it comes right down to it.
I’m glad we were able to get it done. ”
adamcherry@dailyemerald.com
019324.
loorts mm
Restaurant and Lounge
Authentic Chinese Cuisine
Fresh, Quality Ingredients
947 Franklin Blvd. (near UO) • 343-4480
Individual, Family Style, Banquets to 100, Take Out
Tues.-Thurs. 11-10:30, Fri. 11-11 Sat. 12-11, Sun. 11:30-10
\iLO
USE MSELY®
Every Watt Counts!
O SHUT OFF
computers monitors
00<v Sponsored by the UO Campus Environmental Issues Committee
SUMMER
JOBS y
Now accepting
applications
tor Conference
Assistants
Applications due by 12:00 p.m.
Monday • February 7, 2005
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Applications are available al any Area
Desk, the Catering arid Conferences
oil ice, and online at littp://honsing.
tJoregon.edu/ABO/jobs.htmJ. i
$225/week + Room and Board
(live-in required'
f or more information ( all 303
or email: c nteringCuoregon.edu.
I (1/A/VAI >AijisliUtticm < ommiltcu
hi c uliur.il diversify.
r
021148
What’s new in Music in 2005?
Find out in the
Oregon Daily Emerald's
Trends for 2005
on stands tomorrow.