Stirring up waste for the sake of the environment 

 
WHEATON—Kay McKeen, founder and executive director of DuPage County’s School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education (SCARCE), is pumped up for the upcoming Illinois General Assembly Session. An expert in environmental science, McKeen has authored a legislative proposal that enhances composting as it is realized in Illinois.

The plan, which initially is aimed at restaurants and large-scale facilities with cafeterias or industrial-sized kitchens, such as hospitals, nursing homes, schools and government buildings, calls for mass collection of food waste for the purpose of high-tech composting. The byproduct would be sold and used as fertilizer among other things, she said in a Dec. 22, 2008, interview with the JPIC. Naturally, her biggest obstacle is straining the pot of misguided ideas about the viability and cleanliness of composting.

For one thing, composting is not what it used to be, she said. An image of rodent-attracting, open piles of garbage left to rot in the sun under a blanket of leaves is not only off putting but it’s inaccurate too, according to McKeen. Today’s composts have gone relatively high-tech. Some are manufactured, enclosed tumblers and others can be made of chicken wire. The main ingredient in all types is regular mixing or turning and a little water to ensure success.  

However, she pointed out that a professor at Illinois State University in Bloomington has perfected the science of mass composting. Her proposed legislation is based on that model. McKeen is presently seeking a redefinition of “garbage” in Illinois, a measure that would shift the disposal of food waste toward composting. Sen. Heather Steans, Chicago, is considering sponsorship of the composting proposal. For information about composting or other SCARCE projects, visit the Web site at http://www.bookrescue.org/default.asp.