Ten departments on campus will pilot a composting program in October. This will be a precursor to a campus-wide organic waste collection program beginning in Jan. 2013.
The program will attempt to divert offices’ compostable waste from landfills by adding an “organic waste bin” next to trash cans, according to Helen Lee, the zero waste coordinator of Facilities Management.
Organic waste is a product made of anything that was once living, including food, paper, cellophane and coffee grounds. Composting is the natural breakdown of organic waste into topsoil, Lee said.
About 46 tons of trash per month went from AU to a landfill between May 2011 and April 2012, Lee said. Waste audits, which look at what type of items are thrown away, conducted at the School of International Studies, Bender Library and Kay Spiritual Life Center revealed that about half of that trash was compostable, Lee said.
Bins for organic waste will be placed in the kitchen areas of:
• University Center
• Library
• Psychology, Physics and Computer Science departments
• Student Accounts
• Academic Support
• Facilities Management
• Center for Diversity and Inclusion
These 10 departments were selected for the pilot program due to their proximity to the organic waste compactor near Bender Arena.
The organic waste bins will be emptied every day, Lee said. Facilities Management has been working with Aramark to educate staff on where to place the organic waste, she said.
The organic waste collected will be shipped to the Peninsula Compost Group in Delaware along with the approximate 26 tons of food waste already sent each month from the University, Lee said.
“Unfortunately, [Delaware] is our only current option,” Lee said.
Recycle Green, the University’s previous composter, was required by the Maryland Department of the Environment to stop accepting food waste last April. This prevents the liquid of decomposing organic waste from contaminating the groundwater surrounding the Chesapeake Bay, The Eagle previously reported.
Facilities Management is also investigating the possibility of on-campus composting options such as using a composting machine, Stephanie DeStefano, the grounds operations coordinator at AU, said.
She said her major concerns with on-campus composting include attracting rodents, producing smells and annoying the University’s neighbors.
“You have to be very careful when composting,” she said, “to do it properly and safely.”
shogan@theeagleonline.com
