04/02/2009
SUNY Cortland Academic Tutor Rickie McClure, who has composted for more than 20 years, will address the recycling of waste food and its impact on the environment on Wednesday, April 15, at the College.
McClure, who works for the Academic Support and Achievement Program, will begin her presentation, "One Way to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in One Easy Step," at 7 p.m. in the Corey Union Exhibition Lounge.
Sponsored by the Health Promotion Office and the Student Development Center, the talk is part of the College's Wellness Wednesday Series that features speakers, exhibits, workshops and other programs intended to help students adjust to college life. Events are free and open to the public.
Composting is the purposeful biodegradation of organic matter, such as yard and food waste, according to McClure. The decomposition is performed by micro-organisms, mostly bacteria, but also yeasts and fungi that make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching garden soil.
McClure will discuss the positive impact composting has on public landfills, how easy it is to compost food waste and the multiple uses compost has for providing nutrients for flowers, vegetable gardens and house plants.
"Composting has many benefits for both the environment and for the people who do it," McClure said. "It is a great fertilizer for gardening. It resembles soil, smells good and best of all, it's free. It also keeps unnecessary food out of landfills and prevents methane from being released in the air like it would if it were in landfills. I have learned that up to 20 to 40 percent of the waste in landfills could be composted."
Composting involves a layering of brown, high-carbon materials such as dry and dead leaves and weeds, and green, high-nitrogen materials such as fruits, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea bags. The addition of water is necessary, as is mixing up the materials every few days.
McClure, who composts outdoors, uses black, plastic bins to hold waste. However, when composting outside you don't need to use a container, according to McClure.
"Composting is pretty easy," McClure said. "Some people follow specific proportions but I don't find that necessary. Most food and yard waste can be used, minus plastics and shiny paper. Also, if you use worms in your indoor composting, try to avoid adding too many citrus peels, which are toxic to worms."
McClure has discussed with College officials having a worm composting display on campus in the near future. Using worms requires a temperature of between 50 and 75 degrees and limited direct sunlight, according to McClure.
"I really love composting," McClure said. "It's nice to recycle and reuse and this combines both of these things in one. It just seems natural to do. We have a lot of food waste, so why not."
For more information, contact McClure at (607)753-4309 or rickie.mcclure@cortland.edu.