AARC 



182 



Alternative Agricultural Research & Commercialization Center 



Rodale Heads Team Testing 

 Compost Benefits 



Not including the time donated by 

 commercial farmers such as Bob 

 Keller in Lititz. Pennsylvania, a con- 

 sortium headed by the non-profit Rodale 

 Institute is investing $553,091 in an effort to 

 calculate the many benefits of on-farm com- 

 posting — and to discover and deal with any 

 possible problems, such as contamination of 

 soils or water supplies with pesticides or 

 heavy metals. 



Along with the Rodale Institute of 

 Kutztown, Pennsylvania, the research team 

 includes the University of Pennsylvania, the 

 Department of Agriculture's Agricultural 

 Research Service, and the Novon Company, a 

 division of the Warner-Lambert Company of 

 New Jersey. To support this .research project, 

 another 5200,000 is being provided by the 

 Alternative Agricultural Research and 

 Commercialization (AARC) Center, a branch 

 of the US. Department of Agriculture. 

 Among the expected payoffs from this invest- 

 ment of public funds: 



► an added-value system for using, 

 rather than landfilling, munici- 

 pal wastes such as sewage 

 sludge, leaves and the 

 • biodegradable plastics devel- 



oped by Novon; 



^ an additional income source for 

 farmers who may be able to sell 

 the compost they produce, as 

 well as using it on their own 

 fields; 



^ a reduction in the environmental 

 problems caused by improper 

 disposal of wastes that can pol- 

 lute soil and water and; 



^ distribution of information about 

 the benefits of organic compost 

 ic fertilizers produced from non 



^fe 



illusiranoo Dy Eo Coumer 



Rodale Institute/Penn State, PA 



Sponsor's Contact: Rhonda Janke, (215) 683-1412 

 Raw Material: Corn-Starch Based Restaurant 



Materials; Farm Animal Manures; 

 Animal Bedding Materials; & 

 Municipally Generated Yard Waste 

 Product: Compost 



AARC: $ 200,000 



Cooperators Contributions (est.): $ 553,091 



as a soil-enriching, water-saving alternative to using synthet- 

 renewable natural gas. 



The project is designed to develop improved systems for composting. When properly managed, 

 composting reduces wastes so that it is possible to process and use the compost in ways that help, rather 

 than harm, the environment. Using natural bacterial action to decompose wastes, composting produces 

 carbon dio.xide, water vapor, heat and stabilized organic matter. 



USDA-AARC CENTER • 12th & C St. S.W. • Washington, DC 20250 

 Telephone: (?02) 401-4860 • Fax: (202) 401-6068 



Printed on lecvclea paper using soybean-based ink 



