www.stma.org October 2014 | SportsTurf 27
waste products could serve as a nitrogen source and the wood could
serve as a carbon source for making your own compost to aid in your
less desirable soil profiles for your complex.
Metal. The average cost of metal these days is $.10 a pound. I
recycle all my metal and take it to the local scrap yard a few times a
year and have a cookout for the crew to show appreciation and aid as
a motivation tool. You can be surprised by how much scrap metal you
can accumulate.
Yard waste. This type of waste can aid for your composting efforts
and reduces the need to burn.
Take your entire EMS plan and add up all your ROI'S and UFC
on 1, 5 and 10-year programs with short and long term goals. The cost
savings could help with extra funding an area that your facility might
be currently having deficiencies in or maybe it can roll over in a budget
for new equipment or capital expenses etc. With your committee try
to forecast your potential savings by comparing your monthly expenses
from all of your facility budgets and determining what the savings could
be used for to strengthen your company's goals and objectives. ■
Kevin Mercer, LICM, CSFM, is grounds manager at Vassar College,
Poughkeepsie, NY.
Kevin Trotta
Dean Graves,
CGCS, left, and
Dr. Dave Minner,
two of the author's
mentors
