![\"Two](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2018\/09\/Compost-2-300x200-300x200.jpg\")
Working with Cream City Farms, a Milwaukee urban agriculture venture run by David Johnson (a 1993 51ÁÔÆæ grad in economics), Berges and his students planted vegetables in three varieties of compost and observed the plants as the 2017 summer progressed. Unfortunately, Berges wasn\u2019t able to get complete results, but there was a marked difference in appearance between the plants grown in the different types of compost.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause key parts of the field\u00a0project were carried out by undergraduate\u00a0students, who went back to classes before the produce was ready for harvest, we weren\u2019t able to complete carbon,\u00a0nitrogen and\u00a0phosphorus analysis of the marketable vegetables,\u201d he said. \u201c(However), some plants did appear to be doing better than others.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, he added, composting remains as much of an art born out of experience as it does a science.<\/p>\n
The future for food waste<\/h3>\n
As the project ends in October, Genzmer is busy preparing models to present to the USDA showcasing how food waste pickup and composting in Milwaukee might be successful.<\/p>\n
Composting has the potential to help more than just the environment, Genzmer added. Food waste collection and composting and selling the compost could be viable industries in the city that add jobs and benefit urban farms in economically distressed areas. Several composting or hauling companies already operating in Milwaukee, like Compost Crusaders, Blue Ribbon Organics and Purple Cow Organics, were community partners in the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of interesting jobs and interesting entrepreneurial opportunities in here,\u201d Berges said. \u201cYou can establish community gardens, but you have to have that quality compost in the soil to keep them going.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could be growing high-quality produce yourself at a fraction of the cost,\u201d he added. \u201cWhat\u2019s not to like about that?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Compost Project, which involved 51ÁÔÆæ researchers, is exploring composting in Wisconsin\u2019s biggest city. Funded by a USDA grant, the project seeks to answer the question, can composting be a viable industry in Milwaukee?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":785,"featured_media":62644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174,175],"tags":[249],"section":[139,143],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[260],"uwmnews-feed":[167,158,162],"class_list":["post-62640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-research","tag-community-engagement","section-science-technology","section-water-environment","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","related-coverage-community-engagement","uwmnews-feed-alumni-association","uwmnews-feed-letters-science","uwmnews-feed-business"],"yoast_head":"\n