Coe College Continues to Pioneer for Composting

Tom Wieseler started composting food waste from the Coe College cafeteria five years ago.  To say that it was an act of love is an understatement.  Every 10 days, or so, he would personally load his van and take the food waste to the Linn County Solid Waste compost site.  This effort would keep 75 tons of food waste out of the landfill.  Today, he has help.

“Before GreenRU came to us with their turn-key solution for organic collection, we were on our own.  Now, we have a partner that will take our food waste with regularity and we know it is going where it should.” 

Wieseler, the General Manager of Sodexo Campus Services at Coe College, learned about a commercial composting operation in the St. Louis area.  Fascinated with the idea, he was disappointed that similar services did not exist locally. He had even discussed composting food waste on the Coe College campus.   “I am very glad that GreenRU has solved our composting concerns.  Let’s say they have taken a load off my back,” Wieseler said. 

GreenRU began collecting food waste from Coe College at the start of the 2012-2013 school year.  They have already diverted over 8 tons.  The collected food scraps are delivered to the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Compost Site, where they are conducting a compost pilot program to test the long term practicality of composting.

On April 9 GreenRU presented Coe College with a certificate noting their total 2012 tons diverted and celebrating their commitment to sustainability.      

GreenRU has diverted over 1,800 tons of organics from the landfill, with the help of over 30 customers located across Iowa. For further information contact GreenRU at 855-RU-VERDE.

Gardening for your Region

We've been doing a lot of gardening in our head lately. The cold weather just makes us plan the plants we will grow in the spring. This week we found a great website that can help you with your garden planning, BHG Gardening By Region.

This site is great, first you find out what region you're in, if you don't already know. Then you can find the best things to plant based on your region. They have numerous guides, all to help you plan that perfect garden!

We particularly liked their guide to the Top Roses for the Midwest. Which article was your favorite? Be sure to share in the comments. Don't forget- food waste makes a great soil amendment  and we can help your business to recycle your organics.

Guest Post: Illinois Proves Positive on Composting

Hats off to the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity for helping the Illinois Recycling Association and its associated organizations present a first rate seminar…“Looking to the Future: Food Scrap Composting in Illinois.”  Nearly 200 attendees learned about the value of composting, the regulatory and operational challenges and successful food scrap collection programs.  Al Rattie of the US Composting Council’s Marketing Director shared how Weis Markets, a Pennsylvania based grocery chain, was turning their collected food scraps into branded compost for gardening customers.  He also covered the US Composting Council’s efforts to develop a Seal of Testing Assurance.  The Illinois DCEO has developed The F-Scrap Program, making grant money available for business and individuals interested in the commerce of composting.  Discussion on Illinois laws and regulations affecting composting operations were also addressed.  This type of one-day seminar would be an excellent idea for the Iowa Recycling Association or the newly formed Iowa Food Waste Reduction Program.

Written by Demetrios Hadjis of GreenRU

Featured Upcycling DIY

With Valentines closing it, now is rush time for gifts! If you want to make a homemade gift there isn't anything better than an upcycled gift. The one we picked to feature just requires a Vinyl Record and some cooking supplies, but the gift will definitely be one of a kind, a Vinyl Record Bowl!

Thrift shops are full of old vinyls, so stop by any and pick out a record with a significant title or, if you get lucky, with a song that is important to you. It's a great way to make a very personal gift without having to spend a ton of money. The finished project is a bowl that can be used for whatever the recipient wishes! Different sized records make different sized bowls, so take that into account when making yours!

Check out the DIY here! Happy gift making!

U.S. Composting Council Round-Up

Well, as we said in our last post, we spend last week in Orlando, Florida for the U.S. Composting Council Conference. We heard all sorts of interesting things from all areas of the industry and it was a great experience to learn more about everyone working with composting!

Maybe you didn't go to the conference, but there have been a lot of interesting articles that were published leading up to and following it, by complete coincidence. Have you read anything interesting about composting last week or this week? Share the link in the comments! We'd love to read what you thought was interesting!

We read this article about composting to provide fertilizer for rooftop gardens and we were definitely interested! Check it out: http://earth911.com/news/2013/02/04/nyc-rooftop-compost/

School Districts Going Green With GreenRU & Chamness Technology

We're working to help some area schools to compost this semester, and we'd really love for all of you to know about it! Read about it here.

This semester is starting off a little more green for two Iowa school districts. Ottumwa Community Schools and Pella Community Schools have begun the semester by implementing GreenRU composting into their food services.

Both schools started the program at a couple of schools in the district. They are planning to expand so all schools in the district will be diverting their organics from the landfill.

“We’re getting used to it, it isn’t too hard,” said Cheryl Ferguson of Pella High School, as she sliced a pineapple and threw the stock and skin into a orange composting bucket at her feet.

Danny Renfrew, Director of Operations at Ottumwa Community Schools, has wanted to start a program like this for a while, so he is happy to finally have a company who can work with them.

“The kids who we’re doing this for, they’re the ones who inherit this planet.” said Renfrew.  He continued that he did not want to leave this planet a mess for the children at the school to clean up when they are adults.

Bob Brisendine, Head Custodian at Douma Elementary School in Ottumwa, has been teaching the children there to separate the waste themselves. The Douma cafeteria now has two big containers marked “Food Waste”. Brisendine is impressed with how quickly the children are picking up food recycling. That day’s waste had only one piece that did not belong in the food waste, which he separated before moving the food waste into the orange organics bin that now sits behind the school.

“It’s a little extra work, but it’s worth it,” Brisendine said.

Both school districts are excited to expand the program to all of their schools. GreenRU and Chamness Technology, Inc. are teaming up to provide this service free of charge to the schools this year.

Already both schools are seeing the huge impact it could have on their waste.  In the first couple weeks Pella Schools that started the program have diverted 180 pounds of organics from the landfill. Ottumwa Schools are still in their first week, but have already noticed the drastic difference.  

Our Work With Education

We're happy to work with people from all sectors, but recently we got a chance to visit a couple of schools who are currently working to implement GreenRU in their school Cafeterias. Today we just wanted to share with you this snapshot we got of one of the workers at Pella Community School District.

Food Waste & Why Composting Helps

In America we waste 40% of our food. Food waste and other organics can be put to beneficial reuse through composting, but realizing the number is that huge is a wake up call. Check out this data:

Infographic from Sustainable America

Now, it's clear that as a nation we're over purchasing food, but a lot of this waste come from the industrial side of things, and often times their food is thrown out because of regulatory reasons. Going to the landfill means more methane emissions and that's bad news for our ozone layer!

Composting can help by taking these food scraps and other organics and helping the natural process of reuse- the products naturally break down and can be used to help soil to produce more food. This may seem like a simple idea and a natural route to take, but not everyone realizes it.

As a company that deals with organics from institutional settings, it's clear to us how large the impact is of just one hospital, school, university, grocery store, or restaurant switching and diverting their organics. It can equal to tons of material a year diverted from the landfill to beneficial reuse.

If you have questions or want to know more about what we do be sure to comment, but do you compost at home? Do you notice how much goes into the heap with just your family? Let us know!

So, what exactly does GreenRU do?

Our services are actually pretty easy to understand, however watching a video might be a little easier than reading an explanation. Check out the video below to understand how our process works!

Feel free to comment with any questions you may have! We're more than happy to help!

GreenRU: A short introduction

GreenRU is a "zero waste" recycler of organics and food scraps headquarted in Des Moines, Iowa and servicing the entire state. We offer complete recycling services and can provide cars and/or bins, training, signage, and a complete selection of compostable dinnerware, trash liners, and flatware. We're excited to be starting a blog to take about composting and everything related to it, whether it's tips for your garden or general sustainability information!