Update: Bradford compost system fully functional

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Numbers from last semester estimate that a total of 6,000 pounds of basic materials (food scraps and horse bedding and manure) were used to produce 4,000 pounds of compost at the University of Missouri’s Bradford Research and Extension Center.

Beginning Nov. 18, 2011, Bradford began its first cycle in its new composting system. Using food scraps from six of MU’s dining halls, bedding and horse manure, the center’s system creates compost over a month-long period.

Each day, undergraduate students in the Biological Engineering program deliver food scraps to Bradford in the form of 610-pound loads. These food scraps are then mixed for about a week in a machine called a reel mixer.

From there, this mixture is moved to one of four bays where horse manure and bedding materials are added and allowed to decompose for another four weeks. At the end of the process, the mixture has decomposed into a few hundred pounds of compost rich in nutrients and ready to be used to grow vegetables.

Photos by Meghan Eldridge and Tim Reinbott.

This is an update to an article published by Footprint in September. http://footprintmag.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/dining-services-strives-to-offset-environmental-impact/