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Chester the Digester is better for the environment

Chester the Digester is better for the environment

Chester+the+Digester+and+machines+like+it+save+tons+of+waste+from+landfills.
Chester+the+Digester+and+machines+like+it+save+tons+of+waste+from+landfills.

Madison College has had an impressive device for the past three years. It was the first American-made device when it was installed in the United States two years ago.  Found behind the culinary department’s door lives Chester the Digester, an award winning biodiogesting machine.  

Chester the Digester is an automated machine that takes food scraps and turns them into material. This material can be used in gardening and planting. The material is then bagged, and sold. The Big Dogs Fund for the Food Pantry receives profits from these sales. Chester received the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Recycling Award in Innovation last year.  

You can find scraps in the cafeteria, bakery and culinary programs. They are then put into Chester for composting. With a few exceptions like fat and turkey bones, almost any food can be put into the machine. You can even put in other materials like cardboard.  

To make compost, bacteria is added. The bacteria is manufactured in Madison and shipped to China to be embedded in sawdust. It is then returned to Madison College for use.  

This machine can keep tons of waste out of landfills by removing it. It can save between 25-26 tons per year. 

We monitor our water. John Johnson, a culinary arts instructor, stated that we monitor our energy, wind, and solar on the roof.  

This type of device is quite common throughout Europe, even though Chester was the first in the United States. Johnson has spoken to companies from all 50 states and Canada since Chester’s news spread.  

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