About 18 percent of all garbage that is thrown away is composed of food scraps, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

 

About 18 percent of all garbage that is thrown away is composed of food scraps, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Learn about backyard and large-scale composting — and how it can be both effective and profitable — at the next Conservation Café. The program, “From Garbage to Black Gold: Realizing the Value of Food Waste,” will be held Friday, January 24 from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. at the Greenburgh Public Library. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Admission is free.

 

Moderator Braden Cohen of the Greenburgh Nature Center, a composting/sustainability specialist and educator, will outline the scope and expense of food waste in Westchester, explain how composting is a profitable solution, and detail the basic mechanics of composting food along with yard organics.

 

Jean Bonhotal of the Cornell Waste Management Institute and the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, will address the economics of food waste composting and present case studies of composting operations in New York State.

 

Terry Laibach, recycling specialist at NYSDEC, will talk about requirements for food waste composting in New York and discuss composting facilities currently in operation or in the planning stages.

 

Sarah Groat, manager of soil, recycling, and compost operations at Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, will detail how Stone Barns turns “Garbage To Gold” as part of both its mission and business operations. A Q & A will follow.

 

Conservation Café programs provide a forum for discussion of current environmental issues. Sponsors are Westchester County Parks, Friends of Westchester County Parks, Pace University, Grassroots Environmental Education, Teatown Lake Reservation, the Greenburgh Nature Center, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Mianus River Gorge, and Westchester Land Trust.

 

The Greenburgh Public Library is located at 300 Tarrytown Road in Elmsford. For further information, call 721-8200 or visit greenburghlibrary.org.