What happens to the food in rubbish cans after thousands of fairgoers enjoy plate lunches, watermelon contests, and locally grown fruits and vegetables? At this year’s Hawaiʻi Farm Fair, nutrient-rich compost was the answer. This was the first zero-waste diversion effort for the farm fair.
Mindy Jaffe, an educational specialist in the (CTAHR) at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补 and founder of the partnered with CTAHR student ambassadors and staff to divert 1,200 pounds of food waste over the two-day event.
Green waste, worm food and compost
CTAHR student ambassadors helped separate uneaten food from disposable packaging. After the fair, Jaffe hauled the waste to the college’s Magoon Research Station, where food was diverted to green waste, fresh-fed composting worms, or integrated into hot compost piles.
“I thought if there’s any place we should be diverting food waste from the landfill, it’s at the farm fair because these are farmers; they’re dependent on good soil, and it should be composted,” Jaffe said.
Waste diversion and food security
Jaffe plans to scale up the initiative for next year’s fair. She would like to create an official “Farm Fair Pile,” since a single fair generates enough waste to build a 1,000-pound compost pile. The premium compost would be auctioned off at next year’s fair, with proceeds donated to local agriculture and food security projects.
Jaffe is working with a team of CTAHR faculty and staff and the 糖心视频 Foundation on proposals to expand composting research and community education. “Food waste is a resource. You can do a lot with it, and if we’re not taking advantage of that, we’re crazy,” she said.