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Chatham Township Receives
Grant for an A500 Rocket Composter from Sustainable Jersey funded
by Walmart
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Greetings!
We are happy to share with you that
Walmart will provide funds to Chatham School District to
acquire a Rocket� Composter.
Chatham
School district is the proud recipient of a $25,000 grant from
Sustainable Jersey. These funds will be used to acquire a Rocket
Composter. Managing Director of NATH Sustainable Solutions, Gerardo
Soto, said "This is the first Rocket� Composter that will be used
in a public school district in the US. Chatham's education and
on-site composting program will set the example for other
municipalities, school districts, creating a ripple effect
nationwide where other schools, institutions, and communities will
follow."
The program "On-Site School Food Composting Program" will reduce
food waste, carbon footprint and school expenses. It will improve
community recycling, produce compost, provide sustainability
education and outreach to students and other community members.
"It's a model for the rest of New Jersey State and a project that
will have a demonstrable impact on sustainability and will be a
model that can be replicated by other towns." said Patricia
Collington, Chatham Township Environmental Commission Member.
"There are few K-12 schools in the US that compost onsite. We are
missing a great opportunity to create positive sustainable habits
for our future generations. When giving compost back to the soil,
students learn and develop the habit of sustainability, a valuable
practice for the rest of their lives" affirmed Mr.
Soto.
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Chatham
School District sets the standard in Environmental
sustainability
-Students
will learn a new appreciation of natural cycles and
resources:
Composting is a natural process of decomposition to produce a rich,
fertile soil amendment when combining plant, animal and other
organic materials. By putting the compost back into the soil they
will be giving back valuable nutrients that will help to start the
cycle all over again.
-The Rocket Composter� will help Chatham High School manage organic
waste and help the environment:
The Rocket� is an in-vessel composter for on-site treatment of
organic wastes. These wastes can be food waste, meat and fish,
garden and horticultural. This will contribute to help the
environment by diverting food waste from landfill.
-Chatham High School will be eliminating hundreds of tons of CO2
emissions per year:
Just by not having to transport the food waste to landfills as well
as methane emissions, from rotting food in landfills. Compost will
be used on school gardens and green areas, closing the recycling
loop.
-The Rocket Composter serves as an educational tool:
Teachers will use it to explain concepts such as: life cycle,
ecosystems, and the importance of decomposition while providing
nutrients back to the earth. When giving compost back to the soil,
students learn and develop the habit of sustainability, a valuable
practice for the rest of their lives.
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US- More Rocket� composters keep landing in the
US
Another Rocket� composter has landed in New York. This time,
the Rocket� composter will treat food waste at Lehman
College campus in Bronx, NY. For the past 12 years, Lehman College
has composted sufficient grass clippings, leaves and other
materials to meet not only all of their own grounds needs, but a
large enough surplus to support the New York Botanical Gardens.
Soon, Lehman College will add food waste to their composting
program.
Lehman's conservation efforts also extend to reducing energy
requirements by investing operating budget dollars to replace
older, high energy use window air conditioners as well as the 20
year old chillers in their central plant. They have also made the
most extensive use of building management systems in the
University. By engaging in these and other measures, Lehman will
reduce its carbon footprint by 18% by the year 2012.
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The first Rocket� composter has landed west of the
Mississippi River. Portland Community College Rock Creek
Campus officially joined a group of higher learning in the United
States in improving its sustainability by unveiling its new
Rocket� Composter. It was entirely a
student-driven process to research and acquire the
Rocket� composter.
Another Rocket� composter will be arriving in couple
of days to Bedford, New York. This time to a private
School where the Rocket� will serve as an
educational tool for teachers. Keep tune, more details to follow in
our next news letter.
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