Katja Meyer and Jen Goldman

Supervised by Mary Savina; Winter 2000

As we begin the 21st century, institutions are recognizing the importance of considering potential environmental impacts in decision making. Environmental concerns are increasingly being addressed as routine components of any project, whether it involves constructing a new building or simply replacing lightbulbs. With the proposed opening of the new Academic and Dining Building in January 2001, now is an opportune time to reassess the environmental practices of Carleton. One area to be examined is how we as a college deal with food waste. For years, students have voiced their concerns regarding the manner of food disposal, suggesting composting as a more environmentally sound disposal practice. We sought to assess the feasibility of composting for Carleton. While a switch to an alternative form of food waste disposal could confer environmental benefits, it is also possible that such a decision may be economically advantageous. An institutional decision regarding composting would involve consideration of many factors. Thus, we approached this project with a number of goals:

• To quantify the amount of food waste generated in dining halls

• To compare both direct and indirect costs associated with each method of food disposal

• To determine whether a possible site existed on campus for composting based on soil and land use data

• To explore alternate methods of food disposal used by other peer institutions

• To share information collected by assembling a web page