RIC to hold green business forum

RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE will host a green business forum on Thursday.  / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE will host a green business forum on Thursday. / COURTESY RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island College’s fall Green Business Forum, “Food to Waste: Anaerobic Digesters Clean Up,” focuses on the economic benefits of using waste-to-energy technology to turn food scraps into electricity, heat and fertilizer.

The forum will be held Nov. 13, from 8 to 9:30 a.m., in the Faculty Center of the Donovan Dining Center at 600 Mt. Pleasant Ave.

Tickets, at $25 per person, include a continental breakfast. To register, visit reiadoctober.eventbrite.com.

Under state legislation, Rhode Island businesses that produce large amounts of organic waste will no longer be allowed to send leftover food to the state’s Central Landfill beginning in 2016. One option for these businesses, including conference centers, hospitals and restaurants, is the use of an anaerobic digester.

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Anaerobic digesters use natural microorganisms to break down organic waste into biogas, a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide. The biogas then is converted to produce renewable electricity.

“The mandate that bans food waste from the landfill is an opportunity for Rhode Island businesses to explore anaerobic digestion as an option to make us better stewards of the earth,” Jim Murphy, RIC sustainability coordinator, said in a statement. “This semester’s Green Business Forum not only educates on implementing this technology but also on the economic benefits of doing so.”

The forum will address what businesses must comply with the law, whether to own an anaerobic digester or contract the process out to an anaerobic digester facility, and the economic benefits of the process, such as reduced electric rates.

The series is part of the college’s commitment to green initiatives and to exploring sustainability options with on- and off-campus partners.

“Each semester, the Green Business Forum provides a setting for rich discussions between business leaders and environmental agencies that move our collective work on creating a more environmentally healthy state forward,” Jen Giroux, vice president, RIC Office of Professional Studies and Continuing Education, said.

State Sen. Catherine Cool Rumsey, Harvest Power, Inc. founder and chairman of the board Paul Sellew and Atlantic Leasing Group, Inc. founder and president Mike Sokoll will attend.

The forum is cosponsored by RIC, the Renew Energy Initiative, the Rhode Island Hospitality Association and Renewable Now.

For more information on the forum and RIC’s sustainability programs, contact Jim Murphy at jmurphy2@ric.edu or 401-456-8799, or visit www.ric.edu/green/index.php.

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