An affordable, buildable, easy to operate, commercial rotating drum composter for schools, organizations, and small communities

In this webinar presenters John and Katie Culpepper will discuss a novel in-vessel composter that can be constructed by reasonably skilled maintenance staff and others, in a reasonably well-equipped shop, for less than $15,000 in materials cost. There are now five of these units in operation in NY and NJ, and each is capable of processing up to 50,000 pounds of unsorted food waste per year. One of these composters has been in continuous operation for over four years. The presenters will also discuss ongoing work incorporating human urine into this system to significantly raise the temperature inside the drum to produce a better compost product in less time.The in-vessel system is very easy to use and can be placed inside of a 40-foot shipping container. The design manual, operating manual and other supporting materials are free to anyone interested. There are also manufacturing facilities in Upstate NY that can build and deliver this in-vessel system to facilities in the Northeast and beyond. The initiative, Compost for Good, was founded to assist others in developing this and other community-scale composting systems throughout the US and beyond.

• John Culpepper, Director of Facilities and Sustainability, North Country School/Camp Treetops, Lake Placid, NY and co-founder of Compost for Good

• Katie Culpepper, Co-founder of Compost for Good

• Facilitator: Bob Spencer, Windham Solid Waste Management District

• Introduction to session by Bob Spencer: 1:31 (slide deck)

• John and Katie Culpepper: 11:35 (slide deck)

• Q&A: 48:41

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