AEDC Green Team finds beauty in composting

  • Published
  • By Deidre Ortiz
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN --  There's the saying that "one man's trash is another man's treasure," and that's certainly the belief for those taking part in the composting program at AEDC.

Annie Clements, a systems analyst who started the composting effort on base through a recent Air Force Innovation Grant, found that not only is composting helping to reduce the carbon footprint at AEDC, it's also become an art of sorts.

She said she considers it an art because recently a brightly colored sponge-like visitor was found living inside one of the compost bins on base.

"We've discovered a beautiful, bright yellow fungus that is appearing in one of our compost bins at the Carroll Building," she said. "Scott Wieland, a 'Compost Captain' for the AEDC Green Team who volunteers to carry out two heavy five-gallon buckets of compost every other day or so, brought these to my attention. We are both amazed with the glorious yellow color produced."

In addition to this mysterious yellow fungus, Clements added that she has "also had some of the most beautiful mushrooms I've have ever seen go on display around the bins too."

By doing a quick search of the internet, one will see that many gardeners and other folks have encountered this almost crayon yellow artwork left behind by Mother Nature.

Known as slime mold, which describes a fungi-like organism that uses spores to
reproduce, it feeds on the bacteria that grows on dead plant matter. A particular type of this slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, has phase of development called the streaming phase, meaning that it sends out thin strings of itself, surrounding its food and sending out enzymes to devour it. It does this by contracting its protoplasm to allow itself to move.

The slime mold at AEDC has likely occurred because compost itself is organic matter that is being decomposed and recycled to be used as fertilizer and soil amendment. And so, it seems that what was first started as a compost program to help cut back on the amount of compostable items delivered to the landfill from AEDC, has also become a hobby and an art for the Green Team.

The AEDC Green Team is excited to see what will turn up next and hopes the composting effort will continue to expand.

"The composting program during the five-month prototype phase for the Air Force Grant has been a great success," Clements said. "I am hoping that the Air Force will take measures to incorporate Composting at AEDC into the mainstream of waste disposal.  I estimate that 5 percent of the base population has diverted between 15 and 20 tons of material from the landfill, saving tipping fees, labor, and reducing the contribution of methane emissions at AEDC. If the Air Force chooses to continue this program, the potential to grow it is excellent."

To join the Green Team as a captain or participant, or for more information, call the Compost-at-AEDC hotline at 454-5555.

-AEDC-