Early this summer, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will begin an installation-wide composting project. The project will turn the horse manure generated from The Old Guard’s Caisson Platoon and the food waste from the dining facility into a usable organic material.
While horse manure and food waste may not initially seem like a potential pollutant to the Chesapeake Bay, a closer look reveals how JBM-HH’s actions can have far reaching effects on this sensitive ecosystem.
Composting JBM-HH’s manure and food waste is expected to save 70,000 pounds of waste from reaching the landfill each month the composter operates. Diverting this waste not only reduces the amount of material in the landfill, but it also avoids the production of methane and leachate formulation that would ultimately occur. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and leachate contains harmful substances that can enter the environment and ultimately impact the Chesapeake Bay.
One of the biggest threats to the Chesapeake Bay is excess nutrients in the water. These nutrients can come from a variety of sources, including wastewater, runoff from agricultural areas, as well as runoff from suburban areas such as lawns and gardens. Compost has been shown to reduce or eliminate the need for the application of fertilizers and pesticides often used to maintain lawns and gardens.
JBM-HH’s composting project reinforces the installation’s commitment to sustainability. This project will have a positive impact on the Chesapeake Bay by not only decreasing the amount of material that reaches the landfill, but by also turning a waste product into an organic material that will decrease or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Early this summer, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall will begin an installation-wide composting project. The project will turn the horse manure generated from The Old Guard's Caisson Platoon and the food waste from the dining facility into a usable organic material.
While horse manure and food waste may not initially seem like a potential pollutant to the Chesapeake Bay, a closer look reveals how JBM-HH's actions can have far reaching effects on this sensitive ecosystem.
Composting JBM-HH's manure and food waste is expected to save 70,000 pounds of waste from reaching the landfill each month the composter operates. Diverting this waste not only reduces the amount of material in the landfill, but it also avoids the production of methane and leachate formulation that would ultimately occur. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and leachate contains harmful substances that can enter the environment and ultimately impact the Chesapeake Bay.
One of the biggest threats to the Chesapeake Bay is excess nutrients in the water. These nutrients can come from a variety of sources, including wastewater, runoff from agricultural areas, as well as runoff from suburban areas such as lawns and gardens. Compost has been shown to reduce or eliminate the need for the application of fertilizers and pesticides often used to maintain lawns and gardens.
JBM-HH's composting project reinforces the installation's commitment to sustainability. This project will have a positive impact on the Chesapeake Bay by not only decreasing the amount of material that reaches the landfill, but by also turning a waste product into an organic material that will decrease or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
