Composting Links
Since 1989 Dartmouth has used windrows to compost pre-consumer food waste. Then, in 1998 the College allied with the neighboring town of Hanover to expand their composting to indoor windrows; this allowed all pre- and post-consumer waste as well as sewage sludge from Hanover to be composted. This led to a large savings - $10,000 in the first eight months as the school no longer had to use their garbage disposals. The compost is used at the college's organic farm which produces vegetables for Dartmouth.
Middlebury College collects food waste using large self-contained rollaway units equipped with an ozone generator to control moisture and odor. Every two weeks the units are emptied into passively aerated windrows. The waste takes 13-17 weeks to become usable compost. After the first week of composting, odor is virtually nonexistent; Middlebury's golf course lies within 200 yards of the compost and is not affected by odor. This system of composting is also economical. The College spends $43 per ton of waste to compost versus the $135 per ton to ship to the landfill.
For the past 7 years, Ithaca College has used aerated static piles to compost pre-consumer food waste. Although this system only handles about 5 tons of waste per week (13-15% of the total waste stream), it has been so successful that the College is expanding its program through the addition of another composting facility.
To fund Cornell's composting facility, the dining service pays Cornell Farm Services the same amount as the tipping fees usually paid to the landfill. To compost, Cornell's dining hall staff first dewaters food waste with a pulping machine. Then the materials are placed in a windrow system. About 700 tons of food are composted each year (4100 tons total, including agricultural waste), and the College reports that they have not experienced any problems with digging or scavenging by wildlife.
Johnson College in Vermont uses passive vermicomposting (using worms) to handle all pre-consumer food waste. Since 1991 they have composted both on concrete aerated slabs and at 12 vermicomposting sites throughout the community. Currently the College is researching post-consumer composting by using aerated and non-aerated windrows.
Bates College in Maine works with a nearby farm to compost food waste. Pre-consumer waste is taken to Ricker Farm, which is 12 miles away. The waste shipped out includes unbleached napkins, coffee grinds, fruits and vegetable waste, and eggshells. The Farm adds leaves and yard trimmings to the food waste, and in six to nine months, the finished compost is used both on-site and given back to the College. Bates pays the Farm about $2000 each year, and estimates a yearly savings of $1000.
Other Colleges That Compost Include:
- Texas A&M University
- Evergreen State College
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- Tulane University
- University of Waterloo-Ontario
- Hamilton College
Composting Methods Available Include:
- Windrows (open air composting)
- Passive composting (aerated open piles of compost)
- Vermicular composting (worm composting)
- Engineered system (sealed, controlled composting)*
- Biodigesters (methane producing composting)
- Wooden bins
- Off-campus composting company*
Information taken from: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~bake302/compost/page2.html
(*starred items denote options considered by Carleton)