Sustainability Fund Supports Project to Upcycle Organic Waste

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May 29, 2019

The Ohio State Sustainability Fund recently provided $169,000 for a multidisciplinary project exploring how black soldier flies could be used to increase the sustainability of organic waste streams and tackle world hunger issues. The project is led by Brian Roe, professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics, who is also an executive committee member of the InFACT Discovery Theme program. The team includes researchers from a range of departments within the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, including InFACT Faculty Director Casey Hoy, and industry partners.

“There is a lot of manure in the world that's treated as waste – and a lot of the time, we don't treat it very well,” says Roe, explaining that when poorly managed, this organic material can create environmental hazards such as harmful algal blooms and methane emissions from landfills.

The funds will be used to conduct a needs assessment to develop a facility with this technology for all Ohio State Columbus campus organic waste and facilities to handle on-farm animal manure. The Sustainability Fund is administered by the President and Provost's Council on Sustainability.

Find out more about the Sustainability fund and the multidisciplinary project regarding upcycled organic waste