As much as 75 percent of materials going into landfills is organic and could be converted into energy, soil amendment and compost.
An introductory meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Missouri River Regional Library will introduce interested community members to the idea of joining together to develop these technologies.
The first and easiest step toward the future is to apply experimental technology to local community gardens, which as a secondary affect would bolster year-round fresh produce for local food pantries.
NEEED (Nutrition, Energy, Environment and Economic Development) has four primary objectives: to supplement nutrition through community gardens, use well-researched technologies to convert waste material into energy, reduce CO2 pollution with environmentally-friendly soil amendment, and stimulate local economy with commercial production of new equipment and products.