Simple separation will turn waste into precious energy as student project comes to life

West colors may be blue and white, but the school is going green in 2023 thanks to the help of a new food waste-to-energy partnership project set up by senior Hannah Chung. 

“Starting January 23rd, West will be separating their food waste to be sent to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Biodigester,” she said. “The product will be composted and the methane will be collected to be turned into green energy.”

Chung gained inspiration for the project, Earth4Us, from her studies and interests. 

“This is my senior capstone project, and it was also a passion project that I wanted to do,” she said. “I came up with the actual proposal during my time at Harvard University’s Design of Renewable Energy Projects course this summer after I recognized a need for renewable energy implementation while studying abroad in the Spanish Island of Mallorca.”

Green Alarm advisor Rebecca Kocha is excited to see sustainability increase at West. 

“UWO has a biodigester, a system that turns organic waste products into an energy source,” she said. “It’s better to send the food waste generated at West during our two lunch periods to the UWO Biodigester for processing rather than a landfill.”

The success that will stem from this project depends heavily on the student body.

“The students are the ones who will need to separate their food waste, although we will have volunteers to help aid or answer any questions,” Chung said. “It shouldn’t be a very complicated process--leftover food goes in the food waste bin and plastics go in the trash. However, it’s definitely up to the student body to make the change.”

Chung is an advocate of exploring new community connections.

“We have so many great resources in Oshkosh that we don’t utilize,” she said. “I thought this partnership would be a great way to help incentivize green energy in our daily lives.”

The Earth4Us Project has taken years of planning and preparation to implement. 

“I tried to do a project similar to this when I was in middle school, which ended up not working out,” Chung said. “But because of that, I feel like I have learned a lot. Over time, I have implemented new things to avoid the same mistakes.”

Kocha acknowledges the effort that Chung put into the partnership. 

“Hannah has been working on this for years now,” she said. “I know that she has had regular communication with all different professionals at UWO and the OASD School Board to get this project into our school.”

Chung credits communication as one of the factors leading to the program’s success.

Graphic by Jad Alzoubi

“I have had multiple meetings with the superintendent, principal, the head of the custodial staff, head of lunch staff, and district business officials,” she said. “I’m so thankful for their time and the ability to earn an insight to address all of the unique concerns and requests from everyone involved.”

This project is very unique as it incorporates technological resources that many aren’t aware of.

“Biodigesters are not commonplace in most US communities,” Kocha said. “The UWO biodigester is the nation’s first commercial-scale dry fermentation anaerobic biogas system.”

Chung is excited to bring a fresh-new perspective and process to West. 

“I'm not sure how many other projects have been student-led and initiated, so that is a new aspect that this brings,” she said. “This project puts the power in students' hands. I’ve been working on environmental education and we have student volunteers which will help guide the transition into separating our food waste.”

With projects as ambitious as Earth4Us, there are always struggles that one has to overcome. Chung has encountered numerous challenges on the road to implementation. 

“I was expecting there to be some pushback and delays--starting change is a difficult process,” she said. “One of the specific concerns mentioned from the business perspective was about how much this would cost in comparison to the current landfill fees.”

Chung has had to adjust and optimize her project to bring in the approval from all levels of administration.
“If we separate our food waste, which creates up to 80% of the trash produced here at West, that would significantly reduce the amount of times that the landfill company would have to come and unload all of our trash,” she said. “The money saved from the landfill fees could be used for the biodigester fees.”

Chung also had a hard time getting her hands on the necessary products that would make her dreams a reality.

“We were supposed to get biodigesting bins, but they took longer to arrive than expected,” she said. “Instead, we found some extra bins that we could use. We switched the layout of what bins were in which lunchroom, and we also tested the bins to see if they were compatible with the attachment that is used for pickup.”

In the end, Chung was grateful for all the help she received to optimize her project.

“There were a lot of challenges, but I think it helped solidify the project because I got a lot of input from different people that I couldn’t have thought of myself,” she said. “I’m very grateful for that, and I think it helped contribute to success.”

Kocha cannot wait to see months of preparation come to fruition.

“There was a huge amount of planning, communication, and reasoning that went into getting this approved, as well as several logistical challenges,” she said. “But we are so excited to watch Hannah's vision come to life!”

The next step for Chung will be presenting the results of the Earth4Us pilot test to the Southwest Rotary Club later in January and the Oshkosh Area School District Board in March.

“I’m hoping to spread this project to other schools all throughout the district,” she said. “The trials at Oshkosh West are a pilot test of implementation of food waste separation. I want to see other students also participate and help make a change.”

Chung is optimistic that this eco-friendly mindset will translate and inspire students. 

“What I hope happens with this project is that people become more environmentally conscious and make eco-friendly choices like composting a norm,” she said. “ I want to help build these daily habits while we’re still young so they will live on for the rest of our lives. This is the legacy and power of this project.”

by Fareeha Ahmad

Published January 30, 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 119 Issue 4