2022-157-E-AMS-Eno River Farmers’ Market-Eno River Farmers’ Market Compost Monitors

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P a g e 15 o f 2 3 trip to the Walnut Grove Waste and Recycling Center each week = 1,000 miles saved/week. Dividing this by average miles per gallon (25) = 2,080 gallons of gas saved. Using the EPA’s 2020 Emissions Factors for Greenhouse Gas Inventories, 1 gallon of gas = 19.58 pounds of CO2. 2,080 gallons x 19.58 = 40,726.4 lbs. of CO2 or 18.51 metric tons of CO2 Compost that is created by the collection will sequester more carbon in Orange County and the surrounding area when added to soil. In terms of adding soil organic matter, different papers have found that each ton of compost added to soil sequesters between 0.1 and 1 ton of CO2 in the soil. We have employed an average of .5 for our calculation: One ton of food waste results in approximately 680 Pounds of compost (this figure was obtained from Amy Fulford, soil expert at Brooks Contractors), so our estimated total of food waste collected next year = 23.4 tons x 680 = 15,912 pounds or 7.96 tons. If 1 ton of compost increases carbon sequestration by .5, then the total additional carbon sequestered is 3.98 MTCO2 (7.96 x .5 = 3.98). Using compost also means you don’t need to use fertilizer: .80 MTCO2 reduced. Compost typically contains about 1 to 2 percent nitrogen and 1 percent phosphorus. These fertilizers require fossil fuel to make. In CO2 terms, that is 4 kg CO2 for each kg N and 2 kg CO2 for each kg P. If 1 ton of compost contains 2% N and 1% P, how much CO2 is saved by using that instead of fertilizer? Here’s the math: 1 ton of compost * 1,000 kg/ton * 0.02% N = 20 kg N 1 ton of compost * 1,000 kg/ton * 0.01% P = 10 kg P 20 kg N * 4 kg CO2/kg N = 80 kg CO2/kg N 10 kg N * 2 kg CO2/kg P = 20 kg CO2/kg P 80 kg CO2 + 20 kg CO2 = 100 kg CO2 or 0.1 tons CO2 From BioCycle, The Organics Recycling Authority Dr. Sally Brown, Research Associate Professor, University of Washington 7.96 (estimated amount of compost created) x .1 = .80 21. For how many years will this emissions reduction take place as a result of your project? Please consider the expected lifetime of the technology/program/impact etc. Based on comparisons with other compost collection sites, such as the site at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market, we estimate that the tonnage of compostables collected will continue to increase over time, so that the carbon reduction will continue to increase well into the future. The emissions reduction will increase as more community members utilize the ERFM Compost Collection Site. The pattern of increased utilization over time is strongly DocuSign Envelope ID: AFC9D9B8-B7DD-46DF-8603-54762363FD20