How Food Waste Turned A Barren Landscape In Costa Rica Into A Lush Forest
September 16th, 2017 by Guest Contributor
Originally published on Nexus Media.
By Marlene Cimons
Orange isnt just the new black. Its also the new green. Twenty years ago, an orange juice producer dumped thousands of tons of orange peels and pulp onto a barren section of a Costa Rican national park, which has since transformed into a lush, vine-laden woodland. The shift is a dramatic illustration of how agricultural waste can regenerate a forest and sequester vast sums of carbon for free.
Even more remarkable, it was an accident.
I was totally floored, said Timothy Treuer, a Princeton University researcher and lead author of a new study published in the journal Restoration Ecologyabout the rejuvenated forest. The area that received the orange peels was divided from the [area that did not receive the peels] by a single track dirt road, but the two areas looked like completely different ecosystems.
On one side was a pasture with a few scattered scraggly trees, he said. On the other, was an overgrown jungle, so lush it required a machete to move through. Once I was done picking my jaw up off the ground, I realized that I was looking at something truly special. It blew my mind.
More:
https://cleantechnica.com/2017/09/16/food-waste-turned-barren-landscape-costa-rica-lush-forest/