Composting Equipment in the Dining Hall
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Hello,
I'm a student at Skidmore College and we are considering implementing a large scale composting system. It's been recommended that we look into installing a pulper in the dining hall to prepare and condense the food before it is transported to the compost. I was wondering if other schools have invested in pulpers and whether you have found it a worthwhile investment? Was there any other equipment you invested in for the dining hall? What was is and how much did it cost?
Thanks!
- The Compost Team at Skidmore
Posted this twice and not sure how to delete the entire post, so ignore this..
Camille
I highly recommend composting and think pulping is an important part of the process, for the very reasons Camille mentioned. If your dining hall uses any plant-based serveware, it won't compost well unless it has been pulped or shredded. [It's still no substitute for reusable/washable serveware -- and it takes 10 consecutive days over 72°C (160+°F) to biodegrade properly.]
I have no firsthand experience with different brands of pulper, but I have heard some negative remarks about Somat systems; people I've talked to seem to like the pulper/dehydrator equipment from InSinkeErator.
Peter
Peter Crownfield
Campus Sustainability Initiative
Alliance for Sustainable Communities-Lehigh Valley
Bethlehem, PA 18015
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Hi!
I'm excited to hear that you and your school are looking toward composting food waste. A pulper can be a good idea; here are the main benefits:
1. grinds up food into smaller pieces- leads to faster compost curement
2. removes a large quantity of the compost liquid- reduces transportation costs; extracted water can be recycled
Along with these benefits, come some issues:
3. PH control: pulp tends to be acidic- you'll have to establish some kind of napkin/ cardboard addition to neutralize it
Useful website:
http://www.jgpress.com/archives/_free/001687.html
If you have any other questions/ compost related things, feel free to contact me: csd214@lehigh.edu
Camille