Nestled in the heart of Auburn Gresham, the Green Era Campus is a beacon of innovation and sustainability. Once a contaminated expanse of land, it has been transformed into a hub dedicated to processing food waste, aiming to nourish both the community and the environment.
The concept of the Green Era Campus was conceived about 15 years ago by business partners Jason Feldman and Erika Allen, who sought to tackle the pressing issue of food waste. “What can we do with food waste? How can we keep it out of landfills?” they asked. With support from a dedicated team, they launched the first facility in the nation specifically designed to process packaged food waste into clean energy and nutrient-rich compost.
Allen emphasized their mission: “We wanted to demonstrate that in our community, we could innovate around green technology and build living economies through food waste.”
Food waste represents the largest component of solid waste in landfills across the United States, with over 55 million pounds of food waste generated annually in Chicago alone. Utilizing an anaerobic digester, the Green Era Campus has successfully diverted 40,000 tons of food waste from landfills, converting it into compost and renewable energy.
“When food waste breaks down, it produces methane,” Feldman explained. “We capture that methane and convert it into renewable energy, which we inject directly into the grid to help decarbonize the local gas supply.”
The State of Illinois has backed the Green Era Campus with a $3 million Rebuild Illinois infrastructure grant. This support was instrumental in transforming the nine-acre plot from a contaminated field into a thriving facility. Governor J.B. Pritzker remarked, “I was here for the groundbreaking, and now, five years later, this anaerobic digester is making a huge difference in the community.”
Future plans for the campus include the establishment of an education center and a farm, further embedding it within the community fabric. Currently, the facility employs 15 full-time staff, with plans to double that number as operations expand.
Allen noted the profound impact the campus has had on its employees, stating, “To hear staff say their lives have changed because of the work we do is incredibly rewarding. We want to see more projects like this that foster community ownership.”
Green Era aims to scale up operations significantly, targeting the recycling of 85,000 tons of food waste annually into renewable energy and compost, thus making a substantial impact on local landfill waste.
The Green Era Campus stands as a testament to the power of innovation in sustainability. By converting food waste into valuable resources, it not only addresses environmental challenges but also promotes economic resilience within the Auburn Gresham community. As this initiative grows, it paves the way for a more sustainable future.
