UGA Bioconverting Waste
Bioconversion is a big word for a simple idea. Mostly, it’s composting.And University of Georgiascientists are using it to eliminate waste problems.Simply put, bioconversion is turning materials that can be toxic tothe environment into safe,value-added products. It’s the wave of the future as more and morelandfills fill up and close.At the UGA Bioconversion Research and Demonstration Facility in Athens,considered by wastemanagement experts to be one of the best in the nation, researchersstudy how to handle waste.”We’re taking the university’s waste products, from animal bedding inthe barns to leaves andgrass clippings, and composting them,” said WayneMcLaurin, an Extension Servicehorticulturist with the UGA Collegeof Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.”The composted product is then put back into the university landscapeas mulch and soilamendments,” he said.But the university is just one of Georgia’s waste producers.”For example, Georgia food processors produce millions of tons of by-productsand waste everyyear,” McLaurin said. “Getting rid of all that waste is a big economicburden for industry.”The state is urging a 25 percent reduction in solid waste going to landfillsover the next two years.The bioconversion research focuses on trimming waste volume, creatingalternative products,ÿ preventing groundwater pollution, developingsoil amendments, using hard-to-convert compounds and minimizing odors.The new facility is a cooperative effort between the CAES and GeorgiaTech.The seven-acre facility has four acres of windrow composting, completewith viewing windows toview the layers of compost. It also has, among other things, enzymedigestion tanks for compostingchicken carcasses from poultry farms.Right now, the windrow composting includes four piles eight feet high,10 feet wide and morethan 200 feet long. Each stack reaches about 140 degrees inside. Andeach has to be turned once amonth to incorporate all the material.”When you compost, the original mass is reduced by 70 percent in thebreakdown,” McLaurinsaid. “It’s great to have the compost in this kind of facility. Peoplecan see the stages the compost is in, the process it goes through and theways we use it to make the university grounds beautiful.””This project allows us to use all our waste,” McLaurin said. “It saveslandfill space and saves allour dumping fees. It makes a usable product out of a waste product.And we’re helping naturerecycle.”Twice a year, the UGA scientists offer training in waste managementand composting for city sitemanagers, landfill compost operators and workers from private operations.”During these trainings, we offer hands-on experience in all the phasesof composting,” McLaurinsaid. “We’re able to discuss the biological process, the materialsyou can use, the chemical processand the application of it, and all the University-generated materialswe’re working with.”The next compost training will be in March. To learn more about it,contact your county extensionagent.