Printer FriendlyIn 2002, the CFWC received funding from the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) to establish a Compost Education and Demonstration site in the Riverview parking lot on UML’s South Campus. This composting site converts leaves and selected food scraps from the UML cafeterias and serve as a convenient point for compost distribution to the public on Earth Day or at other special events.
In 2003, the CFWC received follow-up funding from the EOEA to expand the existing UML pilot organics vermicomposting program by building a greenhouse to house the ‘red wiggler’ worms. By diverting some of UML’s leaf and yard waste, cardboard, and food waste from the North Andover incinerator, the UML Vermicomposting Program will help reduce local air quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions as processing the materials on site reduces energy use and traffic impacts from the transportation that would be involved. To help institutionalize sustainable practices, the greenhouse will have gutters and a rain reservoir attached to collect rainwater that will be used to water the vermicompost and the outside plantings. The wood used to sheath the end walls of the greenhouse frame is locally grown and milled and serves as an example of reliance on sustainable forest products for construction. UML will also use the compost produced by the Vermicomposting Program on campus grounds to reduce water usage and the use of synthetic fertilizers, which will help minimize nutrient pollution of the Merrimack River.
Also in 2003, the CFWC worked with the City of Lowell Department of Public Works in applying for funding from the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Municipal Recycling Grant Program in the form of a Customized Technical Assistance Grant. This funding allowed for the “Community Partnership for Food Waste Composting Project” that researched the establishment of the practice of separation, collection and transport and composting of food waste with yard waste in a program established at the UML Compost Education and Demonstration site.
For more information about vermi-composting contact Julie Villareal.