Food waste at South Kensington Campus will be used for compost thanks to the College's new composting unit, the CompPod- <em>News release</em>
For immediate use
Friday 13 May 2010
A tonne of food waste, including 100% of the hot food waste collected from the College’s three main restaurants, will be saved from landfill every week at Imperial College London, thanks to a newly designed composting unit unveiled today.
The composter, which has been created using research from the College’s Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, will turn the waste from the South Kensington Campus’s food outlets into compost used to enhance campus green spaces. This move will contribute towards the College's target of recycling 40% of all College waste during 2010.
The CompPod, which houses the composter, is a standalone structure the size of a portable cabin and requires only electricity, water and drainage connections to operate. This design is a world first and means it can be transported to other College locations if required.
It contains all the equipment required for pre-treating and composting food waste, including a macerator machine to chop the waste into smaller pieces, apparatus for sterilising the utensils used to handle it, and a device to drain excess liquid from it.
As well as converting food waste to a green use through the compost system, the reduction of waste sent to landfill due to onsite composting reduces transportation costs and landfill charges. Projected savings mean College’s initial outlay for the CompPod of £140,000 should be recouped within two years.
Due to the variety of its components, food waste does not break down into compost easily. Researchers from Imperial’s Waste Management Group, under the direction of Professor Sue Grimes, have been closely involved with finding the optimum composting environment, by experimenting with the different variables, including temperature, the carbon and nitrogen balance, and the size of food particles. Professor Grimes, SITA and Royal Academy of Engineering Professor of Waste Management, said:
“The collection and disposal of food waste presents a major problem in attempts to divert organic waste from landfill. Our research brings together fundamental chemical, biological and engineering principles to tackle this problem and it’s been very satisfying to see our concept translate directly into a practical green solution here on our own campus. The CompPod is a unique system for in-situ treatment of total food waste, delivering a business solution that contributes to the College’s mission on sustainable waste management.”
Imperial’s Waste and Recycling Manager Nic Dent added: 
“Having this recycling process take place on the Campus visibly demonstrates what can be achieved with green initiatives. I hope its success will encourage all of us to think about how we dispose of other items of waste and inspire us to do the right thing – reduce waste by recycling as much as possible.”
As well as ensuring efficient composting, the conditions defined through Professor Grimes’ research also ensure that the compost produced is suitable for use and satisfies the PAS100 quality levels for compost stipulated by the British Standards Institution.
Imperial’s Facilities Management Division worked in conjunction with the manufacturing and technology company IMC Ltd to develop the CompPod.
Imperial’s other green activities include its StepChange campaign, officially launched in April this year, which aims to cut the College’s carbon emissions by 20 per cent by 2014, from the 2008-09 level. A carbon management plan is currently being developed by Imperial’s Facilities Management Division in conjunction with the Carbon Trust which will set out how the College intends to achieve the cuts.
Existing energy saving initiatives already underway include metering systems to measure buildings’ energy use, reducing unnecessary lighting through daylight sensors and using long-life low-power bulbs and introducing a College-wide mechanism to automatically drop computers into standby mode if they have not been used for 30 minutes.
For further information please contact:
J-P Jones
Imperial College London Press Office
Tel: 020 7594 6704
Email: john-paul.jones@imperial.ac.uk
Out of hours duty press officer: +44(0)7803 886 248
-ends-
Notes to editors:
About Imperial College London
Consistently rated amongst the world's best universities, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 14,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.
Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.
Since its foundation in 1907, Imperial's contributions to society have included the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of research for the benefit of all continues today, with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to improve health in the UK and globally, tackle climate change and develop clean and sustainable sources of energy.
Website: www.imperial.ac.uk
Article text (excluding photos or graphics) available under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons license.
Photos and graphics subject to third party copyright used with permission or © Imperial College London.
