Humboldt State University Paper Towel Diversion Project: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 23:36, 13 December 2011

Humboldt State University is striving to meet its sustainability goals through a series of campus wide projects. One of these goals is to reduce the amount of waste the campus generates. Currently a food waste diversion pilot study is being conducted in conjunction with the Humboldt Waste Management Authority to estimate feedstock for a proposed municipal anaerobic digester. This page outlines a current student project looking into the possibility of including bathroom paper towels to the food waste. A pilot study was conducted to determine: mass and volume of paper towels generated, behavior change through participation in project, and logistics for future study. Data from the study estimates an annual accumulation of 30,000 pounds or 15 tons of bathroom paper towels with a volume of 8,000 cubic feet. Through basic informational signing a 75% reduction in the amount of contamination. Even though these are rough estimates they support future investigation into paper towel waste diversion.

Introduction

In 2010 HSU disposed roughly 900 tons of waste a year, some of which can be diverted from the landfill to meet Assembly Bill 341’s requirement of 75% diversion by year 2020. To meet that goal, the campus is aggressively looking for more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle. This project is intended to create a possible solution for diverting additional waste from the landfill in order to meet this goal. As an early adopter to the HWMA pilot study the Department of Sustainability along with Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program(WRRAP) will be collecting food waste from two main cafeterias to determine the mass and volume generated on campus. The data will help as HWMA is preparing to bring a municipal anaerobic digester online as early as January 2012.

Process Flow Diagram for a food waste digester. Green arrows are organic material flow, the black arrows follow contaminant flows, and the brown, blue and red arrows show end products

Anaerobic digestion is the decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms in an oxygen free (anaerobic) environment, creating biogas, residual solids and liquids ^[1] The biogas will be used to power the actual digesting plant, thereby reducing HWMA’s dependence on electricity and their Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG’s). The residual solids and liquids are nutrient-rich and valuable soil amendments, with the possibility of providing an additional source of revenue for the facility ^[2].

Understanding the Market

There are many institutions that have incorporated a paper towel diversion program. There are several solutions to reducing or recycling paper towels.

The following compost their paper towels:

- American Institute, Washington, D.C.

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[1] (Bohn, et al., 24, 51)

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 == Introduction ==
 In 2010 HSU disposed roughly 900 tons of waste a year, some of which can be diverted from the landfill to meet Assembly Bill 341’s requirement of 75% diversion by year 2020.  To meet that goal, the campus is aggressively looking for more ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle.  This project is intended to create a possible solution for diverting additional waste from the landfill in order to meet this goal.
 As an early adopter to the HWMA pilot study the Department of Sustainability along with Waste Reduction and Resource Awareness Program(WRRAP) will be collecting food waste from two main cafeterias to determine the mass and volume generated on campus. The data will help as HWMA is preparing to bring a municipal anaerobic digester online as early as January 2012.
+[[File:Bio_Digester_Block_Diagram.jpg|right|Process Flow Diagram for a food waste digester. Green arrows are organic material flow, the black arrows follow contaminant flows, and the brown, blue and red arrows show end products]]
+[[File:Anaerobic_digester_diagram.jpg|thumb|left|An image of the anaerobic digestion process taking place in a synthetic bio-digester to create methane gas.]]
 Anaerobic digestion is the decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms in an oxygen free (anaerobic) environment, creating biogas, residual solids and liquids <ref>(Bohn, et al., 24, 51)</ref> The biogas will be used to power the actual digesting plant, thereby reducing HWMA’s dependence on electricity and their Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG’s).  The residual solids and liquids are nutrient-rich and valuable soil amendments, with the possibility of providing an additional source of revenue for the facility <ref>(Bohn, et al, 52)</ref>.
-[[File:Anaerobic_digester_diagram.jpg|thumb|right|An image of the anaerobic digestion process taking place in a synthetic bio-digester to create methane gas.]]
 == Understanding the Market ==