First Rocket Composter in State Unveiled in Chatham

Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner cut the ribbon on the first Rocket Composter in New Jersey Wednesday afternoon at an unveiling ceremony at Chatham High School.

The A500 Rocket was purchased with funds from a $25,000 Sustainable Jersey grant for the "On-Site School Food Composting Program," which the Chatham Township Environmental Commission won in September 2010. Commission member Patricia Collington said the program is "the first of its kind in the state," and Hagner said that this 180-gallon Rocket composter is the first one to arrive in New Jersey and the only one to service a public school K-12 district.

"This puts us at the forefront of composting in the state of New Jersey," said Commission member Kathy Abbott.

Unlike other composters, the Rocket can consume meat proteins and eggs as well as other food waste. The Rocket turns the food waste into compost in only 14 days, and Gerardo Soto, the managing director of NATH Sustainable Solutions which distributes the Rockets, said it is this accelerated pace of composting from which the device takes its name.

The compost then needs to sit for two to four weeks before it can be used as mulch throughout the district. About $4,000 to $6,000 will be saved in mulching and landscape fees as a result of the composter's presence.

John Cataldo, the Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds for the school district, said the composter will be installed outside of the high school cafeteria. The composter also uses wood chips to turn the food waste into compost. The district does make its own chips from trees that it cuts down, but this will not be enough for the Rocket, and Cataldo said he has reached out to the Chatham Township Department of Public Works and local tree companies to ensure a steady supply of chips.

Soto said there are currently six Rockets in use in the U.S. Three more are soon to arrive in New Jersey at Bergen Community College, Ramapo College and Montclair State University.

Students from the Environmental Clubs from Chatham High School and Lafayette Avenue School were also present at the unveiling. Both clubs made videos about the composter which Principal Darren Groh played, and students were able to ask questions at the end of the ceremony.

"It is an easy to replicate program," Collington said, "and I hope that others will replicate it."