eCommons

 

Carbon Footprint of a University Compost Facility: Case Study of Cornell Farm Services

Other Titles

Abstract

Cornell University Farm Services collects recyclable organics from various locations around the University including the dining halls and other food service establishments, the veterinary hospital, satellite dairy cattle, horse and chicken farms, cropping operations, and greenhouses. In 2013, they diverted approximately 6714 metric tons of organic residuals to the compost facility. A questionnaire was developed to get information from the facility in order to calculate greenhouse gas emissions for each step in this process including savings from carbon sequestration through compost use. It was found that in 2013, Cornell’s compost facility emitted 104.6 metric tons carbon equivalent (MTCE) and saved 201.4 MTCE through compost use for a total carbon footprint savings of 96.7 MTCE/year (carbon negative). This equates to 0.0154 MTCE/tonne feedstock emitted and 0.03 MTCE saved through compost use for a total carbon footprint savings of 0.0146 MTCE/tonne fresh matter. These values are specific to this facility, but the questionnaire and calculations can be used by compost facilities to calculate the carbon footprint of composting.

Journal / Series

Volume & Issue

Description

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2018

Publisher

May 22, 2018

Keywords

composting; carbon footprint; compost facility

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Taylor and Francis online

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

article

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record