After almost two terms of campus-wide composting, the program has been successfully implemented, according to people involved with the program, despite minor problems with transport and disposal of waste.
The composting program was fully implemented Fall term after a trial period in the summer.
"It seems to have been implemented pretty smoothly," Dining Services Composting Intern Pat Leslie '01 said. "People got used to the system and the sorting is going much better."
Leslie said at first students and others dining at Courtyard Cafe and Collis Cafe didn't sort their trash or put it into the wrong receptacles. However, the sorting has improved, and Leslie said there have virtually no non-compostable items in bags that have been looked through.
The College brings approximately 30 tons of compostable materials to the facility per month, mostly food waste and non-recyclable waste paper.
Currently the composting efforts are focused on food waste in Thayer dining hall. Each dining facility has color coded barrels for sorting materials.
After students and dining services workers put their compostable materials into the color-coded receptacles in dining halls, it is emptied into a large compactor. Twice a week the compactor is brought to the Dartmouth/Hanover Composting Facility.
At the facility the waste is processed using a "Rotovator" that mixes and aerates the material to turn it into nutrient rich soil. Some of the compost will return to Dartmouth to be used on playing fields and in landscaping, although no compost has been used on campus yet.
However, there have been problems with fully implementing the composting program in other dining areas and residence halls.
"Composting collection is a really difficult situation. It's not garbage, it's something that you want to reclaim," Nicholas Dankers, coordinator of the Environmental Conservation Organization, said.
Dankers said the challenge was finding the best way to collect materials, avoid contamination, and meet the requirements of the composting facility.
One of the main difficulties encountered in dealing with compostable waste is finding the best way to collect and transport it without using plastic bags.
Many solutions have been considered, Campus Waste Manager Lisa Ashworth said. Compostable plastic bags weren't a feasible option because they don't decompose as fast as their contents, causing blocked machinery at the facility. A trial period using paper bags is underway in Hitchcock dormitory.
"We're looking at going to a different collection method," Ashworth said. A possible solution would be hiring a person solely responsible for the transport and disposal of compost.
Another problem is getting a higher percentage of people to sort their waste. Leslie is working on new signs that make it clearer which type of waste goes in which barrel.
ECO has been working on publicizing and supporting composting, with one of their main goals being to have student resource people in each residence hall who can answer questions and help with composting and recycling.
"It's basically an education network to have one student in each residence hall and fraternity and sorority house who knows something about composting and recycling," Dankers said.
ECO is a new student organization run through the Tucker Foundation. The group was formed Spring term to enhance the ease, efficiency, and adaptability of Dartmouth's recycling, composting, and energy conservation programs.
As the composting program becomes more well established on campus, there is possibility for expansion.
"We're in the early stages of implementing it," Ashworth said. "The future holds expanding when feasible."
