Robert Kurtz finds himself working right in the middle of a composting (堆肥) revolution. Kurtz is a commercial solutions manager at Rust Belt Riders. The composting company’s goal is to fight climate change by recycling as much food waste as possible. “If we’re going to meet the climate goals that have been set out by our leaders and scientists, we’re going to have to tackle food waste,” Kurtz said. “It’s a huge part of the problem.”
罗伯特·库尔茨发现自己正处于堆肥革命的中心。库尔茨是“铁锈地带骑手”公司的商业解决方案经理。这家堆肥公司的目标是通过回收尽可能多的食物垃圾来应对气候变化。库尔茨说:“如果我们要实现领导人和科学家制定的气候目标，我们就必须解决食物浪费问题。这是一个很大的问题。”
Wasted food winds up in landfills. As it breaks down, it creates a gas called methane. Methane traps heat in the atmosphere. And that fuels climate change.
浪费的食物最后都被扔进了垃圾填埋场。当它分解时，会产生一种叫做甲烷的气体。甲烷将热量困在大气中。这就加剧了气候变化。
Every day, Kurtz contacts grocery stores, restaurants, and other food-service businesses. He educates them about the harmful effects of food waste. Then he asks if they’re willing to change the way they deal with their extra food. So far, Rust Belt Riders has persuaded 300 companies and 2,800 households to do something differently with their food waste. The company’s seven trucks and 30 employees pick up their clients’ extra food. Then they compost it, turning it into soil. Compost soil is much more than just dirt. It’s made up of five ingredients that combine to help plants grow. That’s why Kurtz and his colleagues at Rust Belt Riders offer a second service: They sell the composted, nutrient-rich soil to people and businesses that need it.
库尔茨每天都与杂货店、餐馆和其他食品服务企业联系。他教育他们关于食物浪费的有害影响。然后他问他们是否愿意改变处理多余食物的方式。到目前为止，“铁锈地带骑手”公司已经说服了300家公司和2800个家庭以不同的方式处理他们的食物垃圾。该公司有7辆卡车和30名员工为客户运送他们剩下的食物。然后将其堆肥，变成土壤。堆肥土不仅仅是泥土。它由五种成分组成，可以帮助植物生长。这就是为什么库尔茨和他在“锈带骑手”的同事们提供了第二项服务:他们把堆肥、营养丰富的土壤卖给需要的人和企业。
In addition to partnering with households and businesses, Rust Belt Riders has teamed up with local schools. At Dentzler Elementary, Rust Belt Riders helps the kitchen staff compost its food scraps. The 500 students place their food waste into bins during lunch periods. The bins are then collected by Rust Belt Riders. “This program has created a space for all students to become environmental stewards (管家) in their own cafeteria when they might not otherwise have the opportunity,” Emily Cass says, who is a farm-to-school coordinator at Dentzler.
除了与家庭和企业合作外，“铁锈地带骑手”公司还与当地学校合作。在Dentzler小学，“铁锈地带骑手”帮助厨房工作人员将食物残渣堆肥。500名学生在午餐时间将食物垃圾放入垃圾箱。然后由“铁锈地带骑手”收集垃圾箱。“这个项目为所有学生创造了一个空间，让他们在自己的食堂里成为环境管家，否则他们可能没有机会，”该校的农场-学校协调员艾米丽·卡斯说。
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