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the locavore
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cuisine
Noodles • Seafood • Curry • Thai BBQ • Dessert
1040 Gaines School Rd. (Ansonborough) • (706) 850-3500
(NEW?) Siri Thai Express & Full Bar
COME ON GAMEDAY FOR
BEER SPECIALS • CHICKEN WINGS • FRIES • ALL OF YOUR FAVORITES
367 Prince Ave. (Bottleworks) • (706) 548-7667
PULASKI
HEIGHTS
FALL
PATIO
BY0B
NEED WE SAY MORE?
706.583.9600
THE LEATHERS BLDG.
675 PULASKI ST, STE.100
SUN-TUES 11am-9pm
WED-SAT Ham-IOpm
Upper Oconee
Science and Policy
Summit
sponsored by
Oconee Rivers Greenway
Commission
Friday, September 30, 2016
9:30 AM -4:30 PM
UGA Special Collections Library
Room 285
UOWN thanks the following for their support:
Oconee River Greenway
Commission
Nutter & Associates
ACC Water Conservation
ACC Stormwater Management
UGA Office of Sustainability
details at: WWW.UOWn.org
THROWING AN EVENT IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS?
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Pylon Reenactment Society [Photo Tim Rogan Photo & Design]
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LET US SET THE STAGE.
The Pros and Cons of Composting
UGA PROGRAM TRAINS LEADERS TO RECYCLE FOOD SCRAPS
By Lauren Baggett news@flagpole.com
Compared to other habits associated with
sustainable eating—buying local, organic or
naturally grown food—it seems Athenians
may be a little slower on the uptake when
it comes to one crucial step: food scrap
composting.
One recent training workshop put on
by UGA’s sustainable agriculture program
taught a group of Athens-Clarke County
employees, farmers and even a restaura
teur how composting is an important piece
of the proverbial pie. Jessica Cudnik, a
program assistant, said the workshop was
meant to “train the trainers.” Thirty-two
participants gathered for two days on cam
pus to learn the science
of composting. The hope
is that the attendees will
become local champions in
their communities in the
effort to divert food scraps
and other organic material
from landfills.
Two-thirds of the waste in our land
fills is organic material—stuff we could
be composting. Many of the participants
who attended the training were municipal
employees—city or county workers who
wanted to learn how to roll out a compost
ing program back home. As part of their
training, the group toured the commercial
composting facility at the ACC landfill.
For now, the facility only collects bio
solids produced by our waste treatment
plant and leaf and limb debris. Adding food
Janssen adds that most of the compost
ing efforts are driven by political will or
community demand. Demand is exactly
what convinced Kristen Baskin to create
Let Us Compost. “Basically, I wanted to use
a compost service in Athens, but we didn’t
have one, so I started one,” she says.
Baskin earned her Georgia Master
Composter certification through the solid
waste department in 2012, and Let Us
Compost was her final project. Today, hers
is the only service in town that collects food
scraps from businesses or residents.
Baskin says she’s seen the knowledge of
composting grow over the last few years,
especially among children.
“When I go into class
rooms, it’s amazing. I’ll
ask, ‘Hey, who knows what
compost is?’ and every sin
gle kid raises their hand,”
she says. “It doesn’t matter
which school I go to.” Much
like recycling took root with kids in the
early ’90s, Baskin hopes composting will be
normal once today’s children grow up.
Today’s residential composters are few
and far between, says Janssen. This is
partly because separating out food scraps
takes extra effort, but mostly, it seems to
be a matter of cost. “It’s hard for any of us
to encourage people to reduce waste if it’s
going to cost them money,” she says.
The ACC Mayor and Commission is
interested in exploring how the county
Georgia is void of
leadership when
it comes to waste
reduction goals.
The Athens-Clarke County landfill’s composting facility.
scrap collection to the mix, says Solid Waste
Director Suki Janssen, may be a tough sell.
“It’s hard to make a business model work
right now in the state of Georgia, where you
have no legislation on food scrap recycling,”
she says. Athens’ composting facility is one
of four facilities across the state.
West Coast cities like San Francisco and
Seattle have very progressive legislation
when it comes to food scrap composting.
Beyond one nonprofit and a few employees
in the Environmental Protection Division,
says Janssen, “Georgia is void of leadership
when it comes to waste reduction goals.”
can reduce waste, so Janssen and the solid
waste department are launching a food
scrap collection pilot program this fall to
see if adding compost collection is finan
cially viable for them to take on.
Showing people how composting pre
serves our land, resources and dollars in the
long run, says Cudnik, is one way to garner
support for food scrap collections and ini
tiatives like it. “Compost is the new black
gold,” she jokes, but in truth, composting
the leftover skin from that organic, locally
grown onion closes the sustainability loop.
It’s something worth considering. ©
10 FLAGPOLE.COM • SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
HENRY TAYLOR