Exterior Spaces Group Appendix B

Exterior Spaces Group
Appendix B: Solutions

Analysis of current situation

Given the impacts associated with grounds maintenance practices at Rice, composting presents a viable option for reducing these impacts while reducing the financial cost of grounds maintenance.

Bulldozer in background near Duncan Hall fills in dirt that should be compost material

Fertilizer could be replaced with compost, having a composition of 1-1/4-1/2, but about nine times as much compost would have to be used in order to keep constant the amount of nitrogen received by the soil. However, composting advocates say that the nitrogen availability of organic fertilizer is about twice that of standard synthetic chemicals, meaning that approximately 4.5 time the current amount should be sufficient. Furthermore, use of composts confer upon the soil benefits not given by synthetic fertilizers (BioResource Management, 1998). A different fertilizer is used for trees and deep-roots plants, so compost could not be substituted for this compound.

Lucinda Valdes, a local recycling expert, informed us that there was a large local infrastructure for composting. Via Internet research, we were able to see what other colleges had done during their environmental audits of grounds maintenance and what ways they introduced composting to their campuses. Using the resources available at the Bake302 WWW links and the National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology pages, we were able to discover which universities had composting programs. Finally, we conducted phone interviews with business representatives of a couple out-of-town commercial composting companies.

A few colleges such as Dartmouth, Ithaca College, Johnson College, and the University of Waterloo-Ontario already have successful composting programs running at their campuses. Dartmouth uses a windrow system that saves approximately $10,000 per school year. Ithaca College uses a very efficient aerated static pile system that composts about 160 tons of pre-consumer food waste per year. Johnson and Waterloo both use vermicomposting systems. Johnson students built about a dozen home vermicomposting systems and are using them as demonstration composting projects and educational devices in their local community (National Wildlife Federation 1997). Constructing wooden bins, wire mesh bins or small vermicomposting systems along with a mounted display can serve as a demonstrative pedagogical tool to both the student body and the community. Another idea would be to have a mounted display describing the process of composting to educate people about its potential uses.