Recently, the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh announced that they’ll start construction on an anaerobic digestion project this spring. It’s great news, as the food waste-to-energy project should be completed by the fall.
I’m not sure why exactly it’ll be the “first of its kind nationwide,” as the article mentions, 
but I’d guess it has something to do with “dry fermentation,” which sounds like it’s straight from a beer ad (‘beechwood aged, dry fermented lager…’).
Also noted in the piece: One of the project’s goals, school administrators noted, is to gain national attention. Any time, Oshkosh.
What makes this project really interesting to me, though, is that in addition to processing campus food waste, the digester will accept local supermarket waste. It’s nice to see that kind of town/gown cooperation, but it’s not quite as important as campus food recovery groups that bring leftover cafeteria food to nearby shelters.
And I really hope that when they say “expired grocery store products” they don’t mean items past their sell-by date.
That caveat aside, the biodigester will make the Oshkosh campus much more sustainable. It will supply 5% of the campus’ energy, reduce the school’s waste hauling costs and keep food from the landfill. Not too shabby.
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