Not your average pile of trash

University's pilot compost pile is one of most sophisticated

Used paper plates (with and without food), shredded paper, garden refuse loaded with weed seeds and, even latex paint, would be strange components for a typical compost pile, but at the newly dedicated facility on the UW campus the purpose is to try to make use of these and other materials. Mixed with traditional composting ingredients such as grass clippings, leaves and pruned branches, students and faculty want to find out what materials can be turned into useful soil amendments.

Chuck Henry of the College of Forest Resources explains how scientists monitor the temperature and chemistry of materials being processed at the UW’s new composting demonstration facility. Next to Henry is Debra Friedman, who cut the ribbon on the new facility. On the right are recyclying coordinator Clarissa Szabados-Mish and master composter Ian Taylor.

While the steel-frame plastic-shell building and 40-foot concrete trenches are pretty simple, the data being gathered about different combinations of materials and the changes in temperature and chemistry during composting is a sophisticated approach to investigate new concepts. The flexibility incorporated into the design makes it one of the most versatile composting facilities in this region, according to Chuck Henry, research associate professor with the College of Forest Resources.

The demonstration facility should help generate information managers need if they’re going to use composting techniques on their own mix of materials at public and private processing sites.

The new facility and this winter’s undergraduate class on composting and organic soil amendments are part of the new Sustainable Resources Sciences program launched by the College of Forest Resources in conjunction with a dozen other UW departments. The program is concerned with using resources - be they raw materials, sources of energy, water or the air we breath - in sustainable ways, Henry says. Reusing materials is just one aspect of sustainability, others are described at http://www.cfr.washington.edu/srs/.

Program organizers expect demand to grow for innovative ways to practice sustainability and for workers trained in the latest techniques. They received $130,000 in UW Tools for Transformation funds to help develop an undergraduate curriculum and help build the compost demonstration facility. Associate Provost Debra Friedman, who administers the Tools program, cut the ribbon at the dedication last week.

Faculty and students who were instrumental in getting the facility under way were among those at the dedication. The UW Physical Plant department loaned the use of a site near the Ceramic Metal Arts Building southeast of University Village, installed water and power and graveled the area

The guests at the dedication came because of a variety of interests, for example Neal Bonham is a gardener at the Washington Park Arboretum; Ian Taylor, a computer services manager with UW Computing & Communications, is a master composter on his own time; and Clarissa Szabados-Mish coordinates UW’s recycling efforts.

Interest in the off-campus community is also evident, Henry says. Contributing to the cost of the facility were the city of Seattle, King County Department of Natural Resources and Northwest Biosolids Management Association. ¶

Sandra Hines, News & Information