May 1, 2009

By Lauren Chambliss

The Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES) received a 2009 Environmental Quality Award from the United States Environmental Protection Agency in a ceremony in downtown Manhattan on April 24.

The Experiment Station’s composting facility–a 16‐year‐old operation that turns organic waste from 57 different campus waste streams into high quality compost–was among the recipients from EPA Region 2 singled out for high‐level accomplishment in improving environmental quality in the region.

Gary Tennant, the Farm Services manager for the Cornell experiment station, who runs the facility, received the award for diverting thousands of tons of organic waste that would have otherwise been trucked to landfill, reducing transportation needs and cutting Cornell’s carbon footprint, while creating valuable compost that is returned to soil to nurture plant growth.

The composting facility, which was originally built with help from the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, annually handles between 5,000 and 8,000 tons of a disparate collection of organic waste, including food scraps from Cornell dining halls, animal bedding from the veterinary college and plant debris from the greenhouses. The waste is placed in several large “windrows” the length of a football field. The windrows are monitored by Farm Services manager Tennant and his staff and turned by a giant machine to keep the internal temperature within an optimal range to convert organic waste into a rich soil additive in high demand by area landscapers, homeowners, and the Cornell campus.

Cornell’s composting facility is the largest such operation in Tompkins County and is frequently visited by researchers and civic waste managers who are interested in the latest composting techniques.

“The operation has facilitated ground‐breaking research on composting with direct statewide impact,” said Bonnie Bellow, EPA Director of Public Affairs, who presented the award, along with George Pavlou, the Acting Regional Administrator of EPA Region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Recent research at the compost site includes a project by the Cornell Waste Management Institute for environmentally safe methods of composting road‐kill, especially deer, which are an increasing problem for highway maintenance officials. This project that has generated considerable interest from the New York State Department of Transportation (NSDOT) which is now testing the mortality composting process at NSDOT locations elsewhere in the state.

Related Links

• Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station