Pennsylvania State University
Tier2-5: Pre-Consumer Food Waste Composting

Pre-consumer food is captured from the six on campus dining commons, several outlets on campus such as the HUB and Bryce Jordan Center, as well as the hospitality centers (Nittany Lion Inn and Penn Stater) and catering service (Java Catering). The hospitality employees source separate pre and post consumer food. Food service employees also source separate pre-consumer food. Penn State composted over 925 tons of food in 2008-2009. Since 1997 Penn State’s Organic Materials Processing and Education Center (OMPEC) has demonstrated continuous growth in quantity, quality and variety of organic materials captured, processed and utilized at the University Park Campus. The OMPEC site is operated as a captive facility. The primary inputs diverted from the waste stream are pre and post-consumer food residuals, leaves, landscape debris and lab animal cage wastes. Farm animal manure and crop residues are used to compliment the various feedstocks to create an optimal compost mix and to produce value added end products demanded by users. The OMPEC facility fulfills operational needs of the University, provides research opportunities and serves as a model facility for the public and private organics processing sector to observe and learn organics processing procedures. Each year classes in Environmental Resource Management, Horticulture, Agro Ecology and Ag Engineering visit the site to learn about environmental design, production and equipment. The program is a collaboration between the College of Agricultural Sciences, Housing and Food Services, Hospitality Services and the Office of Physical Plant. The project has parallel goals of responding to the needs of handling organic residuals generated from within the university and enhancing teaching, research and extension/outreach programs of a land-grant university. The Office of Physical Plant coordinates collection and delivery of food residuals and the College of Agricultural Sciences is responsible for compost production.