We have expanded our composting efforts into the cafes and faculty kitchens around campus. Compost bins are now available for the community to utilize in the C Cafe, L Cafe, and R Cafe. All of the coffee cups and lids sold in our cafes can be composted. Composting is an important step in the recycling of nutrients back into the environment, which is always preferred over recycling plastic and paper to be reconstituted using energy intensive methods. Each year the average North American throws away 1,200 pounds of organic material which could composted. Instead of the nutrients being recycled, they often become trapped within plastic bags. Composting allows for anything but plastic, glass, and metal to be broken down into soil to be utilized. Cedar Grove picks up our compost weekly, where they then turn it into rich organic compost to be bought and used for potting soil.
Sustainability has been working to get compost bins into all of your kitchens! If you are a staff or faculty that is interested in sustainability and you do not have a compost bin in your kitchen, look into becoming a Captain of Sustainability. They are a network of staff and faculty that work to educate their peers on environmental issues and bring sustainable practices into the workplace, such as composting!
Last Updated December 11, 2013