Residential and commercial sectors in the Champaign/Urbana area, generate approximately 12 – 13 thousand tons of food waste per year.

University Dining halls in Champaign/Urbana throw away an average of 65 bags of food waste (or 10,896 pounds of food) per year.

A single student produces an average of 1,280 pounds of food waste per academic year. The US generates approximately 34 million tons of food

waste annually. In 2010, only 3% of food waste was recycled, leaving 97

% (33 million tons) that was sent to the landfills, thus polluting the environment.

Food waste accounts for up to 14% of landfill contents, and is the largest component of municipal solid waste.

Methane, a greenhouse gas emitted from rotten food waste, is 21 times more harmful than CO2 when it comes to Global Warming.

Majority of the US population fails to understand the benefits of recycling.

National Situation Champaign-Urbana

http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/organics/food/fd-basic.htmhttp://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/06/05483.pdf

http://www.dailyillini.com/index.php/article/2010/02/going_trayless_reduces_food_waste_in_dining_halls

The Food Waste Problem…

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We aim to inspire people to build a greener living community. We plan to create an environmentally sustainable initiative by establishing a food waste recycling system, a system that effectively and efficiently utilizes limited resources. We intend to achieve our mission by starting a composting project that addresses environmental, educational, and entrepreneurial aspects.

…Our Vision

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Our SolutionLong-term Goal:

Set up a food waste recycling system in Champaign/Urbana in order to limit the quantity of wasted resources and to build a sustainable community.

Short-term Goal: Recycle food waste collected from three

agricultural fraternities by means of vermicomposting.

Utilize the compost fertilizer on the Sustainable Student Farm.

Who’s Involved?

Where?

Short-term: Agricultural fraternities: Alpha Gamma Rho, Naborhouse and Farmhouse. Us! We have taken steps to involve University & Community volunteers in aiding

our initiative. Long-term:

The Greek System: The University of Illinois has the largest Greek system nationwide with 6,850 members in 59 Fraternities and 36 sororities. Each sorority or fraternity has its own house and chef.

University dining halls: There are 7 major dining halls serving 8,550 students per day.

Champaign-Urbana community: including restaurants, high schools and households in Champaign-Urbana. Sustainable Student Farm:

Sustainable Student Farm is funded by the University of Illinois. It provides food for university dining halls, but it is currently purchasing fertilizers from outside sources.

We have been granted access to this student farm, as we proceed throughout this initiative. 5

What is Composting? Composting is a biological process in which organic matters are decomposed into soil-like

material called compost fertilizer. This process helps transform problematic food waste materials into a valuable product that is recycled back into the land to avoid soil depletion[1]. Additionally, compost fertilizer is a natural and organic approach to nourishing the land compared to chemical fertilizers.

Types of Composting: Traditional Composting: Large-scale process that requires stockpiling of raw materials

and utilizing micro-organisms to accelerate the decomposition process. Vermicomposting: Process that utilizes composting worms (i.e. red worms) as

decomposition accelerators. We will employ this composting method for purposes of ease and efficiency.

The chart below will reference few of the many advantages for using vermicomposting as opposed to the traditional stockpile composting method…Stockpile Composting vs Vermicomposting

Stockpile Composting VermicompostingDuration 3-4 months 2 months

Facility requirement Requires heavy machinery usage

High tunnel with worm bed, worms

Technical requirementAppropriate Carbon-Nitrogen ratio, temperature monitor,

aerobic environmentBasic temperature monitor

Management Daily stockpile turnover Weekly separation of wormsPlace and risk Outdoors, may attract pests Indoors, free from pests

Environmental risk Unpleasant odor if poorly managed Free of odor

[1] On-Farm Composting Handbook by by Robert Rynk, George B. Willson and Maaten Van de Kamp 4

Detailed PlanCollect

Participating fraternities will compile food waste (approximately 800 pounds per week). Fraternity members are responsible for dropping off waste bins at the Sustainable Student Farm every week.

ExchangeEach fraternity will schedule a drop off time to deliver its food waste. During drop off, volunteers will be standing by, waiting to receive the full compost bins and exchange them for clean ones.

DumpAfter drop off, volunteers will dump the food waste into the worm beds within the high tunnel and wash the empty bins for future use. This process will be repeated for other fraternities involved with the project.

MixOnce in the worm bed, the food waste will be mixed with bulking material (for pest control and acceleration of the composting process). The appropriate amount of red worms will also be added into the ingredients as organic decomposers.

1 2

3

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SeparateWhen the first pile has been decomposed into fertilizers, bi-weekly Volunteer Days will be scheduled for students to help separate worms from compost fertilizer. The worms will then be recycled back into the high tunnel for future use. The fertilizer will be used on the Sustainable Student Farm.

Continuing ProcessNew piles will replace the vacant spots when old piles are removed, so that the whole process is continuous.

.

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Detailed Plan Cont’d

Ernst & Young PillarsEnvironmentCreate a greener living community by establishing an efficient food waste recycling system:

Reduce the amount of food waste in the community landfill:• Our project (starting from three fraternities) will reduce at least 15,600 pounds

per year.[1]

Reuse resources by composting food waste into organic fertilizers:• Compost fertilizer is effective in improving growth and yield of different field

crops, vegetables, flowers, and fruit crops. e.g. The application of vermicompost gave higher germination (93%) of mung bean compared to the control (84%)[2].

Recycle the nutrients in the food waste back to soil to reduce soil depletion: • Plants absorb nutrients that are removed from soil but not replaced, which

causes soil depletion.• Compost fertilizer returns valuable nutrients back to soil so as to alleviate soil depletion.

[1] Calculated by 300lb./week x 52 weeks/year =15,600 lb./year[2] Reference: “Vermicomposting: Recycling Wastes into Valuable Organic Fertilizer” by Nagavallemma KP, Wani SP, Stephane Lacroix, Padmaja VV, Vineela C, Babu Rao M andSahrawat KL.

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Educate both volunteers involved and students on campus through several related activities:

Awareness of environmental sustainability:• Educate students at the University of Illinois about the problem of soil

depletion through various types of information media, such as websites on social networking sites and posters in dining halls.

• Students at the University of Illinois will become aware of the amount of food waste generated every day, which compels them to conserve food in their daily meals.

Knowledge about vermicomposting:• Invite students to visit the composting site to learn about the process of

vermicomposting, which may be especially helpful to students from the College of Agricultural Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).

• Provide research professors in the College of ACES with information and experimental data about the process of vermicomposting.

Team work & hands-on experience:• Volunteers from different organizations will learn to coordinate with each

other to ensure the project operates smoothly.• Volunteers will gain valuable experience by responsibly keeping daily

records, monitoring temperature and moisture level in the high tunnel, and separating worms from mature fertilizer etc.

Ernst & Young PillarsEducation

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We will send our fertilizer for testing in order to confirm its usefulness for aftermarket activites:

Sell the fertilizer to farmers in all fields including agricultural, horticultural, and ornamental around Champaign-Urbana area.[1]

Pricing of fertilizer:• Average Price of organic fertilizer is around $4 / lb.• Sell the fertilizer for less than the market price to attract potential

customers.

Process:• Test the quality of fertilizer in A&L Great Lakes Laboratories in

Indiana. • Reach out to potential consumers in the farmers’ market.• Farmers can come to Sustainable Student Farm to buy fertilizer.

Ernst & Young PillarsEntrepreneur

[1] Vermicomposting: Recycling Wastes into Valuable Organic Fertilizer by Nagavallemma KP, Wani SP, Stephane Lacroix, Padmaja VV, Vineela C, Babu Rao M and Sahrawat KL.

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Supporters & ContactsAgricultural Fraternities: Alpha Gamma Rho: president Justin Wassmann,

wassman1@illinois.edu Naborhouse: president Ryan Dewerff, dewerff1@illinois.edu Farmhouse: president Nick Urish, urish1@illinois.eduTechnical Support: Sustainable Student Farm:

Mr. Zach Grant, Student Farm Coordinator College of ACES, Department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Sciences: Michelle Wander, Associate Professor, Director of

Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program Richard Mulvaney, Professor. Specializing in Soil

Science and Conservation. Illinois Sustainable Technology Center:

Dr. Todd Rusk, Researcher

Volunteers: Freshman Honors Society Phi Eta Sigma Sustainable Student Farm Students in the College ACES

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Timeline

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Elements & Materials

Fraternity Involvement

Our Purchases

Land

Water Electricity

Food Waste Transport Labor

Collected and donated

by agriculture fraternities

Vehicles provided by fraternity members

Volunteers from

fraternities and campus community

High Tunnel: provides a temperature regulated environment which will be protected from rough weather conditions1

Worms: the key component of vermi-composting; they speed up the decomposition process of the food waste2

Bins: containers for waste food3

Ground & Compost Covers: provides a layer of insulation between the earth and compost. Allows maintenance of temperature4

Fans: to keep temperature of worm beds cool during summer season5

Thermometers: to monitor temperature of worm beds6

Gas: Reimbursement for cost spent on gas by fraternity members

Misc.: Fertilizer testing7 and additional labor at $10/hour if needed (at most 10 hours/week).

(1) ALTAS Manufacturing Inc. 30’ × 72’ High Tunnel Package; Atlas Catalogs.http://www.atlasgreenhouse.com/index.php

(2) Red Worms 4 Sale; http://www.redworms4sale.com/store/red-worms/(3) Rural King; http://www.ruralking.com/trash-container-roto-tuff-60-gal.html?

utm_medium=google&utm_source=cse&cvsfa=1908&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=303530353530363130(4) CV Compost; http://www.cvcompost.com/?p=quote

Provided by the Sustainable

Student Farm

(5) Poly-Tex Inc.; http://poly-tex.com/pages/accessories/addOns/ventsystem/exhaustfans.html

(6) Vermiculture Canada; http://www.vermiculture.ca/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=87

(7) A & L Great Lakes Laboratories; http://www.algreatlakes.com/lab_agr_com.php

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Our Budget

Donated ItemsLand…........…………………………………………………….0Water…………………………………………………………….0Labor………..............................................................0 Electricity……………………………………………………....0

One-Time CostsHigh Tunnel……………………..………………………4,200Composting Cover……………..…...........................470Ground Cover………………………………………….……90Worms…………………………………………………....2,000Composting Bins…………………………………..….....300Thermometers………….………………………............100Fans………………………………………….……………..1,300

Variable CostsGas ………………………………….………………………….55

Misc*………………..………………………….……....…1,000

TOTAL $9515

First Semester Expenses

*Our original $10,000 grant will sustain our project for 3-4 years. We will continuously look for fundraising opportunities in order to keep our composting initiative a success for many years thereafter!

Research shows that one pound of red worms can eat ½ pound of food every day:

(ln2×4z)/180×∫600 2 (t/90)×(60–

t)dt+4z/2=2400

Z= 70 lbs. Where Z is the number of worms to order and t is the number of days after the project starts. Considering that young hatchlings will take time to mature, we decided to order 100 lbs of worms, which will reproduce more than enough worms for 2 months after the project starts. Mr. Grant will feed the worms with farm wastes before the project starts.

When red worms double every three months… how much will we

need?

Original Sustainable Life:

3-4 years*

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Executive Summary An enormous amount of food waste is generated in the Champaign-Urbana

community each day. Currently the area does not have an appropriate recycling system to transform these wasted resources into useful

materials. We aim to create value out of food waste by starting Small Red Worms, Big

Green Chambana with three agricultural fraternities. With the help of supporters, our project has potential to grow into an institutionalized

recycling system, allowing us to mitigate the food waste problem in the greater Champaign-Urbana community in the long run. 

Our project will not only improve the environmental sustainability in Champaign-Urbana area, but also provide educational value by raising

awareness of recycling and managing waste. In the long run, our project will be financially self-sustained through the sale of fertilizers. 

We look forward to your support for this project.

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Small Red Worms, Big Green Chambana Contact Info…

NAME EMAIL MAJOR GRADUATION YEAR

Yiyun (Ariel) Jin jin38@illinois.edu Accounting Sophomore

Jeane Natalia Lie

jeanenatalialie@gmail.c

omUndecid

ed Freshman

Pei Zou peizou2@illinois.edu Accounting Junior

Nadia (Nga) Le le7@illinois.edu Accounting Junior

Jessica Chang Chang184@illinois.edu Accounting Sophomore