Composting Food Waste & Trying To Stop It: How Missouri Organic Processes10 Tons of Food Waste per Day and What They are Doing to Minimize the Problem
Missouri Organic Recycling uses a unique system of handling food waste to process a regional flow of 60 tons per week. This operation reaches from Warrensburg to Lawrence to St. Joseph and collects from over 330 sources. Removing 10 tons of food per day from area landfills is arguably the biggest contribution to greenhouse gas reduction in the region and at the same time facilitates the production of a premium compost with a stable rich recipe. This compost then continues the cascade of benefits by enriching local soils, enhancing the growth of healthy plants which capture carbon in the form of healthy food and increasing sequestration.
As a 27 year old, successful family-operated business, Missouri Organic Recycling enjoys broad community support from both its contributors and customers. MOR gives back to the community in the form of scores of tons of compost, mulch and other products donated to church, school and non-profit gardens. Through their full-time educator and garden advocate, Stan Slaughter, MOR provides Sudden Gardens, an on-site consultation service for beginning gardeners. Speeches, lectures and workshop appearances are free and available to the public.
Finally Mr. Slaughter has developed the Food Too Good to Waste Project. Starting with a poster and public awareness campaign in 2019, The project is now serving a state-wide 50 school grant from Kansas Department of Health and Environment. This incorporates a state-standards-based curriculum, YouTube videos, compact lessons that are easy for teachers to implement and $200 per school building to purchase composting or food waste reduction materials. The feed back is outstanding and plans are underway to offer the program throughout the Metro.
Speaker: Stan Slaughter
Stan Slaughter is a lifelong educator with a Master of Arts degree in Biology. He taught in local secondary schools for eleven years and has been a part of the Kansas City environmental “scene” for decades. As the Eco-Troubadour, Stan has performed in over 4,200 schools in the greater Midwest and produced 6 CD’s of music. Famous for his assemblies and energy in performance, he “brings it” every time he appears. As the educator for Missouri Organic Recycling since 2017, Stan has made hundreds of public appearance promoting the compost process that he loves.
