Page 16 - May June 2016 Vol 34 No1
P. 16
MEMPHIS By Vaughn Cassidy, TDEC Office of Sustainable Practices
Transforming Production Waste
Tobacco into Fertilizer
With over 300 food-related industries Compostable tobacco in Checking out
in Tennessee, waste management can be a compostable bag and box. the secret blend
a considerable – and costly – challenge. nitrogen, so it’s beneficial to the compost-
American Snuff of Memphis has recently ing process. Screening compost mulch
found a cost-effective, sustainable solution The temperature of the compost is also probe to measure the temperature of the
that takes production waste tobacco out of very important, and is partially depen- steaming piles of compost, Ezell added,
the landfill and puts it back into the soil. dent upon the mixture of materials in “Sight, smell, and consistency are our
Working with The Compost Company the compost. While using a temperature primary metrics.” Proper temperature, as
in Ashland City, what used to be waste is well as the correct ratio of carbon to nitro-
being turned into a high-yield compost gen, guarantees that those three metrics
material.
The American Snuff Company manu-
factures snuff and chewing tobacco. Since
tobacco is an organic material, return-
ing it to the soil is a natural choice, but
initially American Snuff had “looked for
land application or composting and really
didn’t find anything close by,” said Rhonda
Rogers, senior environmental health and
safety manager for American Snuff. It
wasn’t until Rogers met Ed Wansing, an
owner of The Compost Company, at a
conference that American Snuff was able
to make composting a reality.
Ed Wansing, founder and COO, along
with company president Clay Ezell,
owns and operates The Compost Com-
pany LLC. Operating a large composting
facility can appear deceptively simple,
but “There’s more to the recipe than
just dumping organics on the ground,”
said Ezell. “The mix is really important.
We take great care to mix the proper
amounts of carbon and nitrogen so that
it breaks down quickly, with little odor,
and becomes the best natural fertilizer it
can be.” Tobacco is an excellent source of
16 TPW May/June 2016
Transforming Production Waste
Tobacco into Fertilizer
With over 300 food-related industries Compostable tobacco in Checking out
in Tennessee, waste management can be a compostable bag and box. the secret blend
a considerable – and costly – challenge. nitrogen, so it’s beneficial to the compost-
American Snuff of Memphis has recently ing process. Screening compost mulch
found a cost-effective, sustainable solution The temperature of the compost is also probe to measure the temperature of the
that takes production waste tobacco out of very important, and is partially depen- steaming piles of compost, Ezell added,
the landfill and puts it back into the soil. dent upon the mixture of materials in “Sight, smell, and consistency are our
Working with The Compost Company the compost. While using a temperature primary metrics.” Proper temperature, as
in Ashland City, what used to be waste is well as the correct ratio of carbon to nitro-
being turned into a high-yield compost gen, guarantees that those three metrics
material.
The American Snuff Company manu-
factures snuff and chewing tobacco. Since
tobacco is an organic material, return-
ing it to the soil is a natural choice, but
initially American Snuff had “looked for
land application or composting and really
didn’t find anything close by,” said Rhonda
Rogers, senior environmental health and
safety manager for American Snuff. It
wasn’t until Rogers met Ed Wansing, an
owner of The Compost Company, at a
conference that American Snuff was able
to make composting a reality.
Ed Wansing, founder and COO, along
with company president Clay Ezell,
owns and operates The Compost Com-
pany LLC. Operating a large composting
facility can appear deceptively simple,
but “There’s more to the recipe than
just dumping organics on the ground,”
said Ezell. “The mix is really important.
We take great care to mix the proper
amounts of carbon and nitrogen so that
it breaks down quickly, with little odor,
and becomes the best natural fertilizer it
can be.” Tobacco is an excellent source of
16 TPW May/June 2016
