Trash Trek – “Wasted Food” to “Plant Fuel”
A FLL Project Presentation by Daring Dolphins
Aditi Nayak Drithi
Kanthala Naina Mishra Sneha Singh
Problem research & findings We researched extensively to understand the problem of trash using
the following sources: Online articles, books, documentaries and field trips
We understood the different types of trash and how they are handled:
We decided to concentrate on Food/Organic Wastage
Trash Trek
Electronic WastePlastic WastePaper WasteMetal WasteFabric Waste
Food/Organic Waste
Global Solid Waste Composition
Some Food/Organic Wastage facts
Food/Organic waste represents one of the largest component of landfills Food and other organic waste in landfills releases methane Methane plays a big role in Global Warming - It traps up to 100 times
more heat than Carbon dioxide within a 5 year periodWe realized that there are several programs to reduce the amount of food wastage but not a lot of creative
options to improve the process of recycling food/organic waste.
Problem Identification summary
Trash Trek
Electronic WastePlastic WastePaper WasteMetal WasteFabric Waste
Organic/Food WasteReduceReuse
Recycle – How can we better Recycle Organic/Food Waste?
Recycling Organic/Food wastage – Existing solutions
Individual composting City/County based composting Third party commercial services
Our solution – Community Composting We have taken a proven recycling
mechanism: Composting We have created an innovative process
around Composting to make it more accessible
We call it “Community Composting”
Community Composting – Key Implementation Features
Creation of a small community center for composting with a small team of dedicated community volunteers.
Initial setup based on community donation Residents bring food waste to the center and
receive a credit towards small amount of nutritious dirt back
Eventually we start supplying to locals to create a sustainable model
Community Composting – Why this is innovative?
Sense of Community – becomes a common cause rather than individual effort
Economic benefit – nutritious soil for free Proximity – Somewhere convenient; but
not too close to houses Participants in this program do not require
composting knowledge Leads to healthy gardens Sense of contribution towards a greener
planet
Hence…”Wasted Food” to “Plant Fuel”
- By Daring Dolphins
Research sources Online research:
USDA website
Food Rescue
Wikipedia
Documentaries and videos on YouTube
Books
Research sources - Continued Field trips and discussion with professionals
Wake county land fill Sonoco Material Recycling Facility
North Carolina State University
Sharing / Feedback Wake county experts
Sara Davarbakhsh, MScEnvironmental Program CoordinatorSolid Waste Management Division | Environmental Services
Meghan O'Connor BaldwinOutreach & Education ManagerSolid Waste Management Division | Environmental Services
Chelsea AreyEnvironmental Program CoordinatorSolid Waste Management Division | Environmental Services
Rebecca DunstanFeed the Bin School Recycling Program Coord. N.C. Certified Environmental Educator Wake County Environmental Services
Rhonda ShermanNC State UniversityBiological & Agricultural Engineering
YouTube Twitter SlideShare.net Respective schools
Fuller GT/AIG Magnet Elementary
Mills Park Elementary Mills Park Middle