The Worth of Waste

          

Badger Johnson, an avid gardener, Athens local and community organizer with Community Food Initiatives, instilling a love of smelly compost in young gardeners to come.

Composting is truly not always a  pleasant sight, these massive buckets outside of Shively dining hall will soon be taken to the OU Composting site

 

          People and places of business found in Athens, Ohio raise few objections to the practice of composting, but does this ideological support actually further real environmental efforts? The local food community that thrives in Athens supports the eco-friendly attitude behind composting. Gardening enthusiasts, novices and horticultural veterans alike, can appreciate the use of recycling not only as waste reduction, but conversion into a valuable means of garden maintenance. The University is also taking serious strides in its sustainable efforts, with the instalation of a massive composting plant that collects food waste from dining halls around campus. The Compost Exchange Group is a local business offering composting services that take the work and waste into their own hands to promote the practice. Ray Leard from the Group recently paid a visit to various locations prone to waste production in the Court Street food industry to personally extend his services, which include a labeled compost bucket lent to restaurants and picked up weekly, free of charge. Despite the simplicity of the arrangement and the positive impact environmentally, and for all members involved, he was met with skepticism. What causes the concern for these businesses in regards to composting?

 I first went to the skeptically pro-compost businesses, which have thus far refused to take the bucket. Sarah Cecil, the general manager of Big Mamma’s Burritos discussed the difficulties preventing the adoption of composting in local business practices. One concern was whether sustainability is worth the effort, and the difficulty of keeping a business running smoothly with a bucket in the room. One serious and obvious issue was the waste itself and potential odor being released with all those steamy nutrients. To avoid ‘critters’ and scents the authorities of Mamma’s have officially positioned themselves ‘on the fence’ over the whole issue, from which they can look down and see the odorous work being done.

Casa Nueva was one of the few serious practicioners of composting, on Court Street and Sarah Ficke revealed where material is collected by buckets and composted at around 30 gallons daily. The successful implementation of the practice extends to Sarah's home where she composts as well and gardens. Many employees are avid gardeners and composted material is shared among them in addition to being distributed to local farmers and community gardeners. She describes the process as an incredibly easy alternative to merely throwing away trash and one that allows Casa Cantina to benefit the community as well as make their trash runs less heavy. 

Sarah fills an average of three buckets during each cold prep shift with 5 gallons of compostable material, which is sometimes used by the employees themselves in home gardens.

By Lexi Deet