Composting Education and
Research Center
at Rodale Institute


The Rodale Institute is pleased to announce the opening of our new Composting Research and Education Center. This 2-acre facility will serve three purposes:

  • A unique research facility that will test compostable materials and mixtures. Each of six individual concrete pads, measuring 15' by 30', is equipped with its own leachate/runoff collection system. Here we can test how new compostable materials perform in a real world, working-scale compost setting. We can do replicated piles, or controlled variations. We can evaluate not only the efficiency and economy of a material or combination of materials, but the potential impact on ground and surface waters of those materials or management regimes.
    We are currently accepting proposals for compost research projects and collaborations. We are especially interested in linking production and utilization research. Utilization can be tested in both the greenhouse and in field plots on our 333-acre Experimental Farm.

  • A home for the Rodale School of Practical Composting. Offering week-long courses on a variety of topics, from production through use, the School will feature a balance of classroom and hand-on learning. Classes will be developed for farmers, nursery growers, greenhouse operators, landscape managers and other professionals who are interested in incorporating composting into their waste management or soil management practices.. We aim to hold the first course in the Fall of 1996 at the Experimental Farm.

  • A model site for our own compost production. We need to make compost for our Compost Utilization Trials, and for our general farm production. This gives us a site with all weather access and with appropriate environmental protection. This is also a site that the Conservation District, Conservation Service, Department of Environmental Protection, and others can use as a model site for agricultural compost production.


    To discuss how you can work with the Rodale Institute on a compost project, contact:

    Cary Oshins
    Composting Specialist
    610/683-1415

    or

    Laurie Drinkwater
    US Program Manager
    610/683-1437.

    This Facility was funded in part by the USDA Alternative Agriculture Research and Commercialization Center