By TIM
FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
 |
| RI's anti-food waste law was signed at Charlestown's Earth Care Farm. (Photo by Will Collette) |
Environmental sage Greg
Gerritt founded the Compost Conference & Trade Show a decade ago and the
March 14 event at Rhode Island College was his last as organizer.
Gerritt got religion on
the rich soil amendment when he began composting sheep manure 35 years ago in
Maine. The agrarian tradition of composting, he realized, should be applied to
the tons of organic material going to landfills and incinerators.
Rhode Island has only
recently begun efforts to divert the 250,000 pounds of daily residential and
commercial food scrap that gets buried at the Central Landfill in Johnston. But
during the past 10 years, the state has gone from one commercial composting
facility, Earth Care Farm in Charlestown, to several
commercial and public ventures.
“There’s a much wider understanding in the community about the need to compost,” Gerritt said. “It’s starting everywhere.”
Terry Gray, deputy
director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, called
Gerritt one of the state’s “champions in leadership” who made composting an
issue that needs attention.
“It started with Greg,”
Gray said. “He was a force of nature to make this conference happen.”
Gerritt won't be
abandoning his advocacy of the virtues of composting; he’s simply handing over
the management of the event to Rhode Island College (RIC) and its director of
sustainability, Jim Murphy.
Gray hoped that other
state institutions would adopt the sustainability and composting initiatives
employed by RIC. Gray noted the 2016 state law that requires food
manufactures, grocery stores, and restaurants to divert food from the waste
stream if they generates more than 105 tons of organic byproducts annually.
During the next two
years, Gray said the state will focus on diverting food scrap and other
materials from the state’s space-constrained landfill.
Michael Bradlee, manager
of community composting at Frey Florist & Greenhouse, described his
many endeavors to expand urban composting. In 2018, the neighborhood facility
off Smith Street processed more than 100,000 pounds of food scrap.
“What I’ve seen
transform is a community that now believes in composting and doesn't see this
as a peripheral activity,” Bradlee said. “And it’s pretty central to a lot of
people’s understanding of how they should be interacting with the world.”
Jayne Merner Senecal,
co-owner of Earth Care Farm with her father, Mike Merner, the godfather of
composting in Rhode Island, described how composting went from a common
practice among farmers to a budding trade.
Composting, she said, is moving beyond the early adopters to a broader audience. Merner Senecal sees promise with students and young people who value environmental issues. She urged a shift in how compost is discussed.
Composting, she said, is moving beyond the early adopters to a broader audience. Merner Senecal sees promise with students and young people who value environmental issues. She urged a shift in how compost is discussed.
“If we continue to consider
this waste, that is what we are going to end up with at the end,” she said.
Composting toilets and
the management of municipal sewage was a major topic at this year's conference.
Conor Lally of Nutrient Networks in West Wareham, Mass., explained the environmental harm of today’s water-based septic and sewage systems, and how homeowners and even businesses are embracing earth-based alternatives, such as composting toilets.
Conor Lally of Nutrient Networks in West Wareham, Mass., explained the environmental harm of today’s water-based septic and sewage systems, and how homeowners and even businesses are embracing earth-based alternatives, such as composting toilets.
Looking ahead, the Rhode
Island Small Business Development Center is offering workshops on starting compost businesses.