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Kendal, Eli, Stevie, and Gage
What is composting?
What is composting?
Composting refers to the process of recycling decomposed organic materials, such as leaves or food scraps, to create a fertilizer that can be used to enrich soil and plants. Composting accelerates the natural decomposition process by providing a controlled environment in which it can occur.
Microbes are a vital part of composting. They are the driving force behind the breakdown of organic materials into humus. Humus is a dark, nutrient-rich, and spongy material. This can be a great addition to crops that promote growth.
Microbes: Fungi, bacteria, and Actinomycetes
What are some benefits of composting?
Reduction in waste
Reduction in waste
According to the EPA, food and garden waste account for over 24% of what Americans throw away. Repurposing our waste instead of sending it to a landfill can cut costs on the already high municipal waste processing costs.
According to Michigan University School of Public Health, Composting significantly cuts down on the amount of trash in a landfill and reduces the costs and carbon emissions it takes to haul and process those materials. Meanwhile, the valuable nutrients in your compostable materials make composting a favorable alternative to shipping your organic waste to a landfill.
Cuts back emissions
Cuts back emissions
Methane is the second largest contributor to global climate change with an atmospheric lifetime of approximately 12 years. By sequestering methane in the soil, the impact on ground-level ozone can be reduced.
Composting can help sequester carbon, meaning that composting can help remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Improves soil health
Improves soil health
Composting enriches the soil with nutrients, which reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers and pesticides require fossil fuels for their production and shipping, and some of them are potentially harmful to our health.
Compost increases the soil’s ability to retain moisture, thus helping to prevent erosion by reducing runoff. And compost prevents and suppresses plant diseases and pests. Moister, healthier soil improves the workability of the soil and reduces fossil fuel emissions that would otherwise be needed to produce and ship soil-maintenance products.
Helps regenerate poor soil and remediate (clean up) soils that have been depleted by overuse or contain contaminants.
How to Compost
How to Compost
Types of Composting:
Types of Composting:
Passive (cold)
A low-maintenance method of composting that involves allowing organic material to break down over long periods of time without temperature monitoring or turning.
Active (hot)
A fast-paced method of composting that involves the monitoring of temperature, humidity, and ratios of “green” and “brown” organic material.
The ideal ratio for composting is a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of 25-30 to 1. Carbon refers to your brown organic matter, such as twigs and leaves. Nitrogen comes from greens like grass clippings and vegetables.
Why do we need to monitor?
Why do we need to monitor?
Monitoring composting variables allows for better management and understanding of what is occurring inside. These three factors are the main focus when composting. Proper monitoring and keeping track of what is in your compost is crucial for proper decomposition. Higher humidity keeps the fill pile saturated. The more saturated the pile is, the more promotion of microbial breakdown is towards humus.
A large issue attached to composting is the aesthetic issues. The largest part is the smell, but this can be controlled. The stinky smell that is observed when composting is caused by excess amounts of nitrogen. Too much nitrogen can slow down the decomposition process. Adding more carbon or more browns to the compost can add a balance.
How is GVSU composting?
How is GVSU composting?
We observed the Sustainable Agriculture Project's Smart Composter by adding material and observing the recorded data. The Smart Composter was made as a senior project by a group of engineering students in the summer of 2025. It has continued to be run by Dr. Catherine Molloseau. The Smart Composter allows for anyone with permission to compost products from the SAP or their homes. The compost pile is then monitored with internal and external sensors to ensure proper decomposition happens within the closed bin.
What the Smart Compost Monitors
What the Smart Compost Monitors
Humidity
Humidity
Water is automatically added through the built-in water pumps when the sensors indicate drops in humidity levels
Oxygen
Oxygen
Air is automatically pushed through the blowers when sensors indicate drops in oxygen levels
Temperature
Temperature
The temperature of the compost is supposed to maintain itself by having a proper ratio of carbon and nitrogen. The hoophouse it's stored in also helps to control the temperature
What is working well
What is working well
The system design allows the pile to decompose on its own in a controlled environment that involves minimal labor
The sensors allow for 24/7 monitoring, even when away from the bin
The design allows for multiple viewing points to visually see the ratio of greens and browns inside, as well as see the decomposition process
The materials used to build the bin are food-safe to ensure a safe-to-use compost
What is not
What is not
The composter is not very beginner-friendly and doesn't provide clear operating instructions
The wooden doors on the bin swell with the heat and pressure of the compost inside, making them difficult to open and close
The sensor data dashboard does not have clear indicators of what each sensor measures, and it may get cluttered as time goes on
The scale provided can only weigh larger amounts of compost
The temperature of the pile has been dropping drastically with the temperature changes outside
Recommendations
Replacing the wooden doors with stainless steel ones may allow for easier access.
Replacing the current scale with one that is more sensitive would allow users to keep better track of the amounts of greens and browns in the system and make composting at the SAP more accessible for those with smaller amounts to input.
Updating the sensor data dashboard to have more sorting options (table formatting) that show daily/weekly/monthly and eventually yearly information may provide users with a better understanding of the data. Clearer labels and descriptions of what is being viewed on the site would make the data easier to understand for the everyday user who doesn't already know what each sensor measures and what the information means.
If the internal temperature continues to decrease with the colder external temperatures (with the proper carbon-to-nitrogen ratio), another device to heat the pile could be a helpful installation to ensure a quick decomposition process.
Conclusion
Composting can be a great way to utilize food waste generated on campus, while providing a sustainable fertilizer that adds nutrients back into the soil. Adding nutrients back into the soil can promote healthy crop growth while also promoting healthy microbial activity. It is a cost-effective technique. The smart composter is a great way to build engagement with composting and sustainable agriculture as a whole. By controlling different variables within the composter itself, it can demonstrate the important functions of composting and how to manipulate the outcome to achieve the best results. Monitoring these variables through the smart composter is an effective and practical way to improve functions for composting.
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