| For
more than 12 years, University of Maine Cooperative Extension
faculty have led the way in composting
education for homeowners, municipalities,
and “green” businesses, including Maine hotels, that are
committed to reducing the organic
waste stream as socially responsible enterprises. By working
with state environmental agencies to
develop and operate the Maine Compost School, our faculty have
educated more than 1,000 people from
across the United States and 20 different countries. As a
result, they are now practicing
large-scale composting. This composted waste has turned into
“organic gold” by creating new enterprises
selling compost as soil amendment matter to enhance
homeowner landscapes and gardens.
Harraseeket Inn uses compost to
close the food-farm circle
Andrew
Ono,
purchasing administrator for the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport,
attended the Maine Compost School at UMaine's
Highmoor research farm for five days in 2006.
"I was kind of surprised at how
much I learned," remembers Ono.
"I've been
composting my whole life on a backyard scale, but didn't
understand the science to it."
Ono has set up two processes for disposing of food,
cardboard, and other organic waste from the Harraseeket, using
"all of the information from the
Compost School to get the right balance of carbon, nitrogen,
moisture, and air flow." Since the
waste from the Inn tends to have too much moisture, Ono
incorporates horse bedding from neighboring New Leaf Farm.
"They're
ecstatic to have a place to dispose of their horse bedding--and
they get the resulting compost to spread on their hayfields."
New Leaf Farm is also among the 15 or so local farms that supply
the Harraseeket with local produce. Ono credits New Leaf owner
David Colson with the understanding that, although most farms
are linear operations that extract and distribute, with this
partnership, "we've
closed the farm-food circle."
Ono believes that the field is wide open for other Maine inns
and restaurants follow their example. "It's
just a matter of educating themselves and making the
connections." The Harraseeket's
composting operation is part of an environmentally responsible
business philosophy that has earned them a "green
hotel" designation. The Maine
Compost School is run by a team from the Maine Department of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources; the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection; the Maine State Planning Office; and
University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
For more information on how University of Maine
Cooperative Extension can be a resource for you,
visit us on the Web or at your
county office. |
Mark Hutchinson, member
of the Maine Compost Team,
an educational program of University
of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine
Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Resources, Maine Department of Environmental Protection,
and Maine State Planning Office.
 |
Last
Modified:
04/14/08
|