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3/10/2004
Contact: K.E. Schwab --
724-738-2199; e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO
EVALUTE CAFETERIA WASTE
FOR USE AT CAMPUS COMPOSTING FACILITY WITH $36,623 STATE
RECYCLING GRANT
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Graduate students in
Slippery Rock University's enviromental education program will dig
through waste generated at an on-campus food court to determine if
trash generated there can be turned into usable compost as part of
a newly approved $36,623 grant from Pennsylvania’s Department
of Environmental Protection’s Recycling Grant
Program.
The
grant was awarded to SRU’s College of Health Environment and
Science through an application filed jointly with the Butler County
Department of Recycling and Waste Management. The funding is part
of the 902 Municipal Recycling Program that annually funds a
variety of recycling equipment and recycling research projects
across the commonwealth.
Under SRU’s plan, four master’s
degree graduate assistants will spend two semesters studying waste
generated at Rocky’s Grille, a popular campus cafeteria
located in the University Union, to determine if it is feasible to
initiate compost use of waste food serviceware, including
disposable plates, cups and utensils.
Work on the
project will begin March 21 with a “waste sort” -- a
study of the waste currently being produced at the eatery. In
addition, the compost site at SRU’s Robert A. Macoskey Center
for Sustainable System Education and Research on Harmony Road will
be studied to determine if more materials can be incorporated into
the site’s current compost operation. Project officials say
if the results are positive, a plan will be developed to collect
and transport appropriate materials generated at the
grille.
The grant also funds construction of a new
concrete storage area for the compost materials, a storage area for
finished compost and a new compost screener at the center.
Composting is seen as a way to reduce the quantity of waste sent to
landfills and creates a valuable gardening material that improves
soil health. The university currently receives leaves collected
from Slippery Rock Borough along with pre-consumer food waste from
university cafeterias for use in its compost operation. Compost
produced at the Macoskey Center is used at the center and in
related projects.
For more information about these projects
contact Robin Boldosser or Jesse Kucenic in the College of Health,
Environment and Science at 724-738-4862; the Macoskey Center at
724-738-0606; or the Butler County Department of Recycling and
Waste Management at 724-284-5305.
PN, PgN, WPN, PR, S
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