Farm To Fuel: Sacramento State Using Waste As Resource

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Sac State is using waste as a resource through a program that's a first of it's kind in the Cal State University system.

The program takes farm to fork to now farm to fuel. It falls in line perfectly with Gov. Jerry Brown's push to decrease California's carbon food print.

The university is taking wasted food scraps from the campuses dining commons to help fuel their campus shuttles.

At the dining commons, on average, each student wastes about 3 pounds of food per week. Instead of that food going to the landfill, it's brought to a nearby facility where the waste is processed into clean burning fuel. That fuel is then used to run the campus' eight shuttles.

"The program is fantastic, because it reuses that food that's otherwise wasted to make it cheaper for students to get around," said student Alexandria Byrd.

Basically, the methane the food creates is infused with natural gas that actually burns 95 percent cleaner than regular gas.

An environmental win with cleaner air and less in the landfills, but that's not all. With more than 3,000 trees on campus, there was another opportunity to use waste as a resource.

Sac State's sustainability manager, Ryan Todd, says the leaves that fall from the trees are gathered, a compost is created, and the material goes back to the trees as needed soil and nutrients that would otherwise need to be purchased.

Some students the university is looking to set a precedent for other campuses.

"Since we're taking the lead on this, we should definitely set the tone for more to follow," said student Zac McCurdy.

Sac State recently got a grant from the CSU chancellors office that will allow the university to expand the compost yard and come spring, students will be using it as a laboratory.