anaerobic digestion | Crazy About Compost

How these Massachusetts farmers are turning manure and food waste into power

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=100&v=bmX1sowEo8g&feature=emb_logo While I'm a fan of keeping organic materials out of the landfill, I'm not a fan of burning methane, either. Notice there's no mention of finished compost from this process? Therefore, this process is totally misleading by calling itself "renewable". If you're converting organics into methane gas and then burning it, the organics are now gone for good (not renewable). There's no compost resulting from this process that would then be able to grow more food. Better than landfills, better than incineration, but not good enough.

Compost king: Paul Sellew at TEDxBoston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eXRfynD-M8 While TED talks mostly make me cringe, this one explains composting pretty well. To be clear, he owns an anaerobic digester and that puts his presentation in a light I don't fully agree with, but if you put that aside it's worth watching. The initial pitch is spot on up until about 6 minutes when he goes pro-burn while taking a dig at solar and wind...super lame. It's best to view composting as avoiding the landfill, cutting emission, and replenishing soil- the energy talk is nice, but it's not the job for anaerobic digestion. That being said, the reality is that this model is expanding, and I'm not opposed to it entirely- outdoor aerobic piles can be difficult to manage when their daily allowance is several hundred tons per…

Anaerobic Composting – Is It Worth It?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPQ4U4vtWd4 Anaerobic composting is a simple and fun alternative to the usual ways of composting, which include using a compost bin, a tumbler, or worms. While it may be the easiest method, it takes a really long time to finish and it has different environmental consequences...more on that in a moment. A popular method I've read about is to use two thick black garbage bags, a bucket to measure out the contents and some water. Add equal parts shredded food scraps (no meat/dairy/seafood), soil+some finished compost, and "brown" materials (shredded leaves, shredded paper). Add some water to get the material damp, but not completely soaked. Tie off the bag, then put it inside the other garbage bag and tie that off, too. All done! This process is often said to…