Sparking a Composting Revolution: AdkAction and Compost for Good

By John Culpepper Director of Facilities and Sustainability

IS IT POSSIBLE TO COMPOST everything that comes out of commercial and residential kitchens? Absolutely. Some of you have been doing this successfully for decades. However, incorporating meat and dairy into compost systems can be tricky.

When composting happens in large rotating drums, temperatures remain high enough to rapidly break down food waste so that odors, flies, and rodents are not an issue. These units have been on the market for many years, but they tend to be expensive, and can be complicated to operate. Until recently.

Thanks to an initial 2016 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority utilized to design and build a composter at Camp and School, the institution was able to secure a second grant to build three community-scale composters, designed by John Culpepper and a local contractor, Greg LeClair, for local organizations. The composter at Camp and School has already diverted more than 120,000 lbs. of food waste from landfills. The plans for this composter, along with an operating manual and other support materials, are also free and available to anyone who is interested.

John, his daughter Katie Culpepper (CTT 92–99, CTT staff 02-09, 11–14, NCS staff 08–10, 11–17), and another Adirondack local, Jennifer Perry, have launched an initiative to broaden the number of communities that can accomplish composting on a community scale. The project is called “Compost for Good” and was started in partnership with an Adirondack-based not-for-profit, AdkAction.

Why compost?

➼ More and more states will require composting

➼ Composting takes a “waste” and turns it into a soil-building material that increases the productivity of soils to produce food

➼ Composting food waste takes the pressure off of landfills, requiring fewer to be built

➼ Composting keeps money in the local economy, and generates new business opportunities

➼ Keeping food wastes out of landfills reduces the production of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas

Opportunities for composting include organizations that may want to compost on site, individuals who want to collect, process and sell compost to consumers, and towns and villages that want to bring composting to their solid-waste receiving stations. These rotating drum composters can be housed in relatively small sheds or 40-foot shipping containers.

This is an incredible time for composting. With this initiative, we are determined to spark a wide-ranging composting revolution. For how to build, purchase, and operate these composters, see our evolving project page on the AdkAction website.