{"id":240204,"date":"2026-09-09T10:48:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T20:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=240204"},"modified":"2026-09-09T10:48:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T20:48:49","slug":"zero-waste-at-state-farm-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/09\/zero-waste-at-state-farm-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"糖心视频<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s zero-waste effort at Hawaiʻi State Farm Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

\"People<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Hawaiʻi<\/span> Farm Fair, nutrient-rich compost was the answer. This was the first zero-waste diversion effort for the farm fair.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Mindy Jaffe, an educational specialist in the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience<\/a> (CTAHR<\/abbr>) at the University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> at M\u0101noa and founder of the Oʻahu<\/span> Worm ʻOhana<\/span><\/a> partnered with CTAHR<\/abbr> student ambassadors and staff to divert 1,200 pounds of food waste over the two-day event. <\/p>\n

Green waste, worm food and compost<\/h2>\n

CTAHR<\/abbr> student ambassadors helped separate uneaten food from disposable packaging. After the fair, Jaffe hauled the waste to the college\u2019s Magoon Research Station, where food was diverted to green waste, fresh-fed composting worms, or integrated into hot compost piles.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

Waste diversion and food security<\/h2>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

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\u2019s fair, with proceeds donated to local agriculture and food security projects.<\/p>\n

Jaffe is working with a team of CTAHR<\/abbr> faculty and staff and the 糖心视频<\/abbr> 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The zero-waste effort diverted 1,200 pounds of food waste. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":240235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[212,544,73,9],"class_list":["post-240204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","tag-college-of-tropical-agriculture-and-human-resilience","tag-natural-resources-and-environmental-management","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t