{"id":15489,"date":"2014-08-07T13:04:27","date_gmt":"2014-08-07T17:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/entrepreneurial-skidmore-students-start-composting-business-in-saratoga-county.html"},"modified":"2014-08-07T13:04:27","modified_gmt":"2014-08-07T17:04:27","slug":"entrepreneurial-skidmore-students-start-composting-business-in-saratoga-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2014\/08\/entrepreneurial-skidmore-students-start-composting-business-in-saratoga-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneurial Skidmore Students Start Composting Business In Saratoga County"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"evolv\n<\/div>\n
This container developed by Evolv Composting is used by area restaurants\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

By Barbara Pinckney<\/p>\n

Two young entrepreneurs are scouting
\nSaratoga County for land on which to compost
\ntheir customers’ food waste.
\nJohn Manning, CEO of Saratoga Springs based
\nEvolv Composting, said the lack of land
\nis the main inhibitor to the company’s growth.
\nThe property it has been using will not be
\navailable as of the end of August.<\/p>\n

“Once we have our new location, we will be
\nable to expand exponentially,” said Manning,
\na 24 year-old graduate of Skidmore College.
\nManning and his partner Brad Cray, a
\n22-year-old Skidmore student who graduates
\nin 2015, incorporated Evolv in January.<\/p>\n

The
\ncompany provides homeowners and restaurateurs
\nwith an easy way to practice a form of
\nanaerobic composting called Bokashi. With
\nBokashi, all kinds of food scraps–including
\nthe meat and dairy left out in most traditional,
\naerobic methods–may be composted, thereby
\neliminating the greenhouse gasses that result
\nwhen those scraps end up in landfills.<\/p>\n

Evolv provides customers with airtight bins
\nand wheat bran inoculated with lactobacteria,
\nwhich jump-starts the breakdown of food
\nwithout creating methane. The full bins are
\nperiodically swapped for new ones. Once the
\ncollected compost has fermented completely,
\nit will be sold for use in gardens.<\/p>\n

“I want to get composting into every household
\nand every restaurant,” Manning said.
\n“There is no need to produce chemical fertilizers
\nwhen all the nutrients we need are right
\nthere in the trash. I would love to see Evolv, in
\nthe next year or two, be fully Capital District wide,
\nhandling as much of the region’s organic
\nwaste as we can.”<\/p>\n

Evolv grew out of a class project at Skidmore.
\nThe assignment, given by Professor Catherine
\nHill, was to develop a business plan for a mock
\ncompany. Manning and Cray, who will graduate
\nin 2015, based their plan on the composting
\nsystem Manning’s parents used when he was
\na boy in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

Hill encouraged them to turn their plan
\ninto an actual business. She also recommended
\nthey enter the New York Business Plan
\ncompetition, a statewide contest for student
\nentrepreneurs. The company was a semifinalist
\nin the energy\/sustainability category in the
\nregional round and was named Rookie of the
\nYear, in the same category, in the state finals.
\n“That was a big confidence booster,” Manning
\nsaid.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Evolv was testing its
\nsystem at Comfort Kitchen, a Saratoga Springs
\nrestaurant where Manning worked as a cook.
\nIt then began signing up residences in the city.<\/p>\n

Customers can purchase a bin and wheat
\nbran outright, at a cost of $40 for homes and
\n$70 for restaurants. But most opt to enter into
\na subscription service with a scheduled bin
\nswap. This service allows the environmentally
\nconscious to compost without having to deal
\nwith the waste itself. Those who want some of
\ntheir compost back, to use in their own garden,
\nwill be able to obtain it once it has completed
\nthe fermentation process.<\/p>\n

Either way, the system is designed to make
\ncomposting user friendly. The bins, which
\ncontain no bags or liners, fit neatly under
\nthe kitchen sink. Manning said the only odor
\nproduced is a “vinegary, yeasty smell” that is
\nkept within the airtight bin.<\/p>\n

“I think taking away that ‘ick’ factor helps
\nbreak down the barrier and lets people get into
\ncomposting easier,” he said.<\/p>\n

Evolv currently purchases its bins from
\na company that does its manufacturing in
\nChina, but that is going to change. Manning said an engineer is designing a bin specifically
\nfor Evolv, and the partners are looking
\nfor a domestic manufacturer to produce it in
\nrecycled plastic.<\/p>\n

In order to finance this endeavor, Evolv
\nplans to produce a video for the crowdfunding
\nsite Indiegogo. The partners also will
\nbe making a pitch to some seed investors.
\nThey already are working with mentors from
\nCleantech Open, the largest clean technology
\naccelerator in the country.<\/p>\n

At the moment, Manning and Cray, who has
\nthe title of chief operating officer, are the only
\nfull-time employees, although they consider
\ntheir advisors–including Skidmore’s Hill and
\nMike Shimazu, an associate vice president at
\nthe University at Albany, as part of their team.<\/p>\n

Manning said the company is adding residential
\ncustomers every week, and has signed
\non a few more restaurants. However, it is
\ncontaining its growth until it finds new land
\nto do its composting on.<\/p>\n

“Right now we are trying to limit the number
\nof restaurants we take because we can’t get
\ninundated with too much compost,” he said.
\nOnce Evolv has a sufficient inventory of
\ncompleted compost, it will sell it through area
\ngarden centers, return a portion to customers,
\nand use the rest as part of an education
\nprogram.<\/p>\n

Starting this fall, Manning and Cray will be
\nteaching third graders in the Latham School
\nDistrict about gardening, composting, and why
\nit is important for society to move away from
\nputting greenhouse-gas producing food waste
\nin landfills.<\/p>\n

“Education of kids could be the biggest
\nfactor for actually transitioning people over
\nto mass composting,” Manning said. “A lot of
\nadults are stuck in their ways. But kids are
\nwilling to learn, and if they grow up composting
\nthey are so much more likely to continue
\nit as an adult.”<\/p>\n

The company’s website is http:\/\/evolvcomposting.com.<\/p>\n

Photo Courtesy Evolv Composting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This container developed by Evolv Composting is used by area restaurants By Barbara Pinckney Two young entrepreneurs are scouting Saratoga County for land on which to compost their customers’ food waste. 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