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| Hey guys ... the name and look of this composter, being used at two universities, tickles me.THE ROCKET.
Even considering that most of these kinds of articles are long on rah-rah and short of facts, this Rocket sounds pretty good.
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Here is a link that might be useful: Composting ROCKET
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by sandhill_farms 10 NV (My Page) on Fri, Oct 1, 10 at 22:45
| I'm really happy to see that the schools are doing this, that's great! Greg |
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| " I'm really happy to see that the schools are doing this, that's great!" I can't tell if that's sarcasm. |
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| Maybe it's the thought that counts, but $40K aquisition plus additional daily operating costs for a facility full of young people? Yoiks! I kinda wish the article had given more info such as landfill charges and hauling rates. Maybe it saves them $$ in the long run, who knows. Lloyd |
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| That I piled up material and then turned it regularly and got finished compost in two weeks for considerably less than $39,000 tells me this is just a gimic. How long does it take one to recoup that expenditure? |
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- Posted by sandhill_farms 10 NV (My Page) on Sat, Oct 2, 10 at 8:12
| "I can't tell if that's sarcasm." I don't know where you're getting sarcasm out of my statement that I'm happy that schools are teaching students about composting. As far as a $40,000 gizmo to do it with that's a huge stretch. For a long time I've felt that people fall prey to expensive gizmos and gadgets to do something that is not all that complicated - Composting. Greg |
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| ha ha...comparing a single household with a facility serving, what did they say?, oh ya, 18,700 students, I can see the similarities. ;-) Who here has ever tried to 'backyard' compost foodstuff on that kind of scale? ISTM that objectivity and big picture thinking isn't a big issue to some. Lloyd |
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| Yes, but didn't superior composting technology put the man on the moon? |
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- Posted by borderbarb San Diego county (My Page) on Sat, Oct 2, 10 at 21:12
| I don't know about going to the moon on compost power ... but have observed that things that are new or emerging always cost more at the start. I doubt we'll have one of those rockets in our back yard any time soon [ever!], but of all the gimickie things that colleges sometimes take up, this one seem possible to grow into something productive down the road....if only in the attitudes of the students...some of whom may be learning skills that will carry over into their professional lives. Here in CA our population keeps doubling every decade ... it's a toss up which will run out first..water, landfill space,or cropland. So learning how to manage some of our 'trash' is pretty important. |
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| Objectivity, "big picture" thinking and education of people as to where&how they fit into the food chain and waste stream are all desirable attainments. From my practical background of R&D in metals and manufacturing, perhaps some spiral weld galvanised tube, a couple electric motors and related controls, ALL R&D costs, and profit = 40 grand. Of course, Jessie James used a gun. But local mushroom growers, who often operate on far less than 256 acres, compost tri-axle dumps of waste on less investment than that. The equipment used also serves other purpose.
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| Most obvious; Google it, that model appears to be the one made for 50 households 300 liters per week, not 18,700 students. Not to bad as it is cleared to compost meat in Great Briton. A good start. High dollar? I would think so, But the tax dollars for waste management are not going to go down Look at your sewer bill. It is higher than water. Part of that must be garbage disposal waste cost. I hope it works! nothing drops prices faster than success. Curt |
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| "and this isn't a motorised compost tumbler" It isn't a tumbler but it has similarities and some differences. "Not sure if a student body of 18,700 yearly means they are all eating three squares there daily" I'm not sure either, but the article says the 'unit' will handle "40 gallons per day" and will be able to "reduce by half" of the materials sent to the landfill. The specs of the unit also say it requires daily feeding. I suspect local zoning would also play a large part as to what type of composting might be allowed. The article doesn't mention anything about that. On first reading it sure sounds like a lot of $$ but there is not really enough info to go on for me to come up with an informed opinion one way or the other. I did notice the article mentions students learning and thinking about the process as well as the total waste created so there is that aspect as well. I'm not trying to defend the system, I'm just saying there is more to this than we know and comparing it to a persons backyard system is goofy if one considers the overall scale of the operation it is intended to serve. Lloyd |
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| Harvard has a composting program that did not come even close to costing that much money. Cornell has a composting program that did not even come close to costing that much money. |
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| Okay then, show us the costs for Cornell. |
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| "On first reading it sure sounds like a lot of $$ but there is not really enough info to go on for me to come up with an informed opinion one way or the other." Agreed. But, a quote I've always remembered, " Life can't proceed without assumptions". It appears the main purpose of the unit posted by the OP is waste stream reduction, as opposed to...ahem..."quality fertile soil". At first glance, a desirable course of action. Again, their intent is ultimately to the good- I'm just appalled at the cost and the apparent lack of the students themselves to solve the problem at home. Lloyd, my recollection of your posting history assumes you know quite a bit about large scale composting, possibly with some civic involvement; if we can agree that composting is in fact NOT rocket science, have you any comments on the viability of OP sized systems that have a lower $ tag? |
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| My bad I misread the picture in the article lol. Half of the waste plus the table ware. Lets see that's just over two dollars per student. That Does not break the bank. I am sure they looked into Cornell etc. After all they do worms so they must be taking cost into consideration. And parents would send up red flags if they thought it was out of line. ;-) It has been a while since I read it but Cornell used a blower system in there studies for the cafeteria. High fat was a problem (surprise)! With student diets. I think they added high carbon (sugar) for energy so the wee beasties could handle fats. There was no cost annalists in the study I read. Curt |
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| Barb I get a double kick out of the name. When I was young I made solid rocket fuel for my homemade model rockets out of nitrates and carbon. Talk about fast compost Ha Ha. Curt |
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| Yep I could compost all that at my house if they wanted to spend the fuel to drive it out here. Why does the cost matter so much to you people is the end result different if it cost 10,000 or 100,000? Why is no one here composting there tableware in 2 weeks? Why couldn't the current composting company that the waste was being sent to compost it properly? Have you ever checked in on the regulations on a commercial composting operation I have and 40,000 is probably dirt cheap Everybody should be involved in waste reduction where ever they can often times its difficult to have a smelly fly ridden pile of kitchen waste out your back door |
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| Hi alphonse I was giving kimmsr a few days to come up with his Cornell costs to back up his statement. Seems he isn't going to back up his claim, again. ..sigh.. Many different methods could be viable and some might be at a lower cost but, I say again but, without knowing parameters we would be speculating. I don't do large amounts of food but I know a company in Winnipeg was just shut down by the government because of problems they were having (They pooched it big time). So it may not be rocket science to do the actual composting, setting up a legal system entails waaayyy more thought and no doubt $$ than setting up a backyard system. It may very well turn out that the schools choice is the best for them. Lloyd |
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- Posted by borderbarb (My Page) on Thu, Oct 7, 10 at 2:19
| Curt ... It's a wonder to me that my 3 sons survived their childhood wi/o permanent damage. Making rockets was one of their passions. You may have seen "OCTOBER SKY" ... movie about WV coaltown boys who built rockets. All of which has nothing to do with composting ..., sorry, guys. I am encouraged by more frequent news stories about community/businesses/personal composting. Google on key words and you will see. I think it is somewhat akin to home computers. At early stages they were expensive and only a few nerds were able to work them. Now they are like indoor plumbing ... rare home that doesn't have one. I think that composting is about half way from nerd/whacko practitioner to universal norm. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Rocket Boys
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| "It may very well turn out that the schools choice is the best for them. " A diplomatic answer, and one I'll agree to. Composting and rocket science have practicable solutions but wide scale human endorsement is beyond the complexity of both. In the meantime, the size nines serve other propulsion purpose. " Lets see that's just over two dollars per student." "Why does the cost matter so much to you people is the end result different if it cost 10,000 or 100,000? My property tax went up just $20 a month ....in short, almost everything has increased JUST a little except my income, which is stagnant.
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- Posted by phebe_greenhouse (My Page) on Mon, Oct 11, 10 at 12:16
| kimmsr saying, "Harvard has a composting program that did not come even close to costing that much money. Cornell has a composting program that did not even come close to costing that much money." I'm sure. I read forever ago that the state ag colleges normally teach composting; they always have. It was a memorable article because it said that a student project was to compost a dead calf in six weeks. Dead calves are in fairly plentiful supply at ag colleges -- and dairy farms. Made me think about the potential of composting. Well, composting is getting more and more high-tech to separate homeowners without much yard from their money. Look at the latest Gardener's Edge catalog, jeepers. I'd be embarrassed to use those big cream churns instead of a straightforward series of bins! However....I suppose the whole crucial deal all the new systems and machines address is the turning. That's certainly how our local landfill gets the huge amount of sterile compost we can buy for $10, loaded onto the truck. They have huge scoops constantly turning the material in long windrows. Turning is presumably what separates hot, sterile composting from cold passive composting like I do, with nice black stuff but lots of weed seeds. These schools probably get a lot of pressure to be "green," so maybe it's worth the money just to shut up the greenies for awhile. |
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| If all that come out of the $40,000. is that 1/2 of the students compost for the rest of their life it is well spent. Look at the electric car cost at many schools & never put into use. Yes, you can buy a electric car now, but USA car companies have promised a car for 60 years & they never delivered. Japan(?) did it first. The cost of waste in S.C. land fill is over $35.00 a ton.That is about 1143 tons to pay the school back. 1 maybe 2 years to brake even?. The ideal that the school would even try is a good thing! My tax dollars going to save money & help remove waste is better than $600.00 hair cuts & jet rides home for D.C. big wigs of Both Parties! CUT SPENDING & SAVE MONEY! |
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- Posted by nancyjeanmc (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 14:20
| Nope...not well spent. Teaches them it's ok to waste (our) money as long as the reason is politically correct. How about teaching them the appropriate "app" for the project is free. Entropy. I use, I toss, it decays, I plant. Past prior behavior shouldn't condone current nonsense. |
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- Posted by michael357 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 16:13
| While one can cheer that young'uns are still being taught how to compost, there are cheap ways and, obviously, expensive ways. In the mid 80s (19, not 18 80s) CSU did it by erecting concrete 3 - side by side concrete block bins and making us poor, poor students manage it by hand. We even had to go out and take daily temperature readings, BY HAND and record them!!! These days, temperatures would probably be recorded with thermocouples connected to a data logger and uploaded to a server where students could check from their butts in a dorm room on their laptops. Hope I don't sound too dated, I swear, I really don't have any grey hair or wrinkles yet! |
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- Posted by nancyjeanmc (My Page) on Sun, Dec 26, 10 at 16:22
| LOL, Michael. Well said. But ... about those wrinkles and grey hair ... what's so wrong with them? |
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| "...there are cheap ways and, obviously, expensive ways." And then of course there are legal ways and, obviously, illegal ways. Lloyd |
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