Innovation grant offers personnel composting opportunity at work

  • Published
  • By Raquel March
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) employees can reduce their footprint on the environment through the Compost at AEDC program made possible through an Air Force Innovation Grant.

Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. This personal, passive (natural decomposition) compost program will help reduce the amount of compostable items delivered to the landfill from AEDC, as well as tipping fee costs. The idea was proposed by Annie Clements, a systems analyst and developer with the ATA Information Technology and Systems Department.

"When at AEDC, I felt a sick feeling every time I had compostable items and had no place to put them except into the trash," Clements said. "Because there was no convenient method to divert my organic waste here at work, I went to a lot of trouble to keep containers on my desk and collect my organic waste and brought them home regularly in order to 'do the right thing' with them."

Clements recalled how she acquired her Tullahoma home-compost bin through the City of Tullahoma almost 20 years ago which was offered free to residents to divert compostable waste away from residential trash. She thought AEDC could benefit from a similar program because of the employee recycling efforts already in place.

"I then researched to identify the tipping fees - fees charged to AEDC - for each ton dumped into the landfill," she said. "Because I recognized that this is not only a good thing for environmental stewardship, it is also beneficial financially to reduce costs associated with delivering excess weight unnecessarily to the landfill."

Seventy-five Earth Machine compost bins were attained through the Innovation Grant program and they will be placed at up to 47 buildings at the Complex as more Green Team captains volunteer for the program. Higher occupancy buildings will receive more than one compost bin. The bins, which measure 33 inches in diameter and 33 inches in height, can hold 80 gallons of compost.

"In our first two weeks [of implementing the program], we have 32 total Green Team members composed of 13 captains and 19 participants in 12 buildings," Clements said. "My goal is to gain enough volunteers to warrant placement of all 75 bins, and to identify the need, if any, to purchase more."

Personnel are encouraged to dispose of compostable items in personal receptacles, such as plastic coffee canisters, and to take their composts to the compost bin when they take their trash.

Currently personnel may take their composts to bins located at buildings 100, 430, 740, 877, 912, 938, 939, 1077, 1099, 1103, 1476 and 1477. Items to be composted should be kitchen scraps (except for meat, fish, bones, fatty foods such as cheese, oils, etc.), coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, egg shells, fruits and vegetables, flowers, plants, bread, hair, napkins and paper towels.

Trash, chemicals, plastics, glass, metals and weeds-to-seeds should not be placed in the compost bins.

According to Clements' grant research, an employee generates a minimum of ¼ to ½ pounds of compostable waste each day at AEDC which computes to 156 tons of compost annually costing $7,300 in landfill tipping fees.

In conjunction with a cost savings in tipping fees, some other benefits projected in Clements' research include diverting as much as 65 percent of compostable waste from the landfill. This diversion causes a reduction in landfill methane emissions by allowing aerobic decomposition. The resulting rich compost is available to employees participating in the program for gardening and landscaping.

Clements said, "Anyone participating in composting on base can harvest compost for their personal use whenever it is available. Green Team captains will keep us posted on the status of the bins in their areas. The original [Carroll building] sample bin has some compost that is ready to harvest now."

Clements predicts that the recently placed, additional compost bins will be harvestable in eight to 10 months.

This Innovation Grant also includes the coordination with local counties to provide composting opportunities. Clements said the City of Tullahoma is exploring providing composting bins to residents again.

"Included in this grant are plans to contact Franklin, Coffee, Moore, Wilson, Cannon and Bedford County municipalities in order to encourage our surrounding government entities who house most of our AEDC team to encourage and introduce composting to compliment and extend the impact of the Compost at AEDC program."

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