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FROM GARBAGE TO GOURMET: SUSTAINABLE WASTE PREVENTION AND MUSHROOM CULTIVATION FROM USED COFFEE GROUNDS
Impact/Purpose:
The technical challenge of our proposal is to transition the Kansas State University campus to a closed loop waste management system where materials will be used to their fullest before they are properly disposed. This is essential because the current waste management system and community culture is leading to nearly 80% of the waste generated on campus ending up in the landfill, of which the majority is recyclable or compostable. Our proposal will feature a pilot study of an economically- and culturally-feasible closed loop waste management system, the “From Garbage to Gourmet Project”. In this pilot study, spent coffee grounds that would otherwise be landfilled will be used to create local and high quality edible mushrooms before they are composted. The proposed work will introduce the option of composting food waste to students at a popular coffee house on the KSU campus and will educate the community about the importance of sorting waste and disposing it properly. To ensure the successful performance of this first waste separation-with-composting station, employees and customers will be trained to sort their waste. Educational trifolds and posters will be professionally designed to explain the importance of separating waste and highlight the profitability of material reuse and composting.
Description:
The expected outputs of the project will include: 1) compost, 2) mushrooms for demonstration 3) report and website documenting recommendations for gourmet mushroom cultivation and results of the pilot study, and 4) tri-fold displays. The expected outcomes of the project will include: 1) diverting compostable material, 2) educating the community, 3) research on the optimal conditions for gourmet mushroom cultivation in coffee grounds, 4) knowledge gained on how to conduct closed loop waste management on campus and 5) momentum for the campus and community towards sorting all waste and disposing it properly. The results will be measured by determining how much organic waste is diverted and composted instead of landfilled, as well as the amount and biological efficiency of different types of gourmet mushrooms produced from spent coffee grounds. Formative and summative evaluations will be completed on the pilot study to determine the degree of success, and the results as well as recommendations will be published in a paper and presented on a KSU recycling website. Our pilot study prevents pollution to the air, water, and land by diverting waste from landfills, decreasing the need for transport of the waste to the landfill, and using resources to their fullest before they are recycled.