1. Composting By Group 11(aka Team Giraffe)

2. The Problem  Rufus Kings wastes too much food. Food that can be composted and used to help grow more food, via composting. This food is usually compostable and isn’t given away to anyone, it is just thrown away. Rufus King currently has no composting program, and that’s what we would like to add.

3. Some Info About Composting  Composting Enriches soil  Compost does this by increasing the nutrient count in the soil. It encourages healthy plant growth.  Compost helps clean up contaminated Soil  Can help decompose harmful chemicals  Compost Prevents Pollution  Prevents formation of methane and other greenhouse gasses  Offers certain economic benefits  Reduces need for fertilizers, and other artificial growth enhancers

4. Science of Composting  Composting works because when things decompose they release certain amounts of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. These elements create ideal environments for microorganisms to help decompose more foods and things which creates even more ideal environments which creates a self feeding cycle.

5. Composting Data

6. Our Solution  Our solution is to place bins around the cafeteria to promote composting. These bins will have lids to contain the smell of the compost. Once the bins are close to full, we will use the bins to help grow plants that we might use to cut down on our food spending. Locally grown foods will also be slightly healthier.

7. Testing  To test this we will begin collecting compost. After the compost has been collected, we will use the compost to help the growth of 1 plant. The same plant will also be grown again in the same spot, with uncomposted soil. After the plants have grown, we will record the nutritional value of each food, as well as the grow time and other factors. This data will be collected because it is very representative of the effect of compost. We will repeat the experiment for any food the cafeteria wishes to grown, to see how cost effective it is. This will also help us determine if different foods react poorly to the compost.

8. So Why Compost?  Composting helps soil. It promotes healthy plant growth and helps safely eliminate waste. It helps clean up contaminated or polluted soil and helps animal life prosper.

9. Bibliography  www.epa.gov/composting/beifits.htm www.epa.gov/composting/beifits.htm  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compost