Although the composting program at Dartmouth has been in place for more than a year, the Courtyard Caf and Collis Caf have not been composting due to space and transportation problems, according to Campus Engineer and Civil Waste Manager Elizabeth Ashworth.
While both dining halls have separately marked trash bins for compostable and non-compostable items, the lack of workers and space to store the separated trash have led to mixing the compostables with regular garbage, Ashworth said. Thayer Dining Hall has been successfully composting, according to Ashworth.
A new composting program is scheduled to begin at the two dining halls in coming weeks, according to Ashworth.
Dining Services was unable to implement the original composting plan at Collis and at the Hop because of the relative small areas available for waste disposal. This is in contrast to Thayer, which has a loading dock specially reserved for waste management. Thayer also has a trash compactor adjacent to the building.
The company hired Northeastern Waste Service, Inc. to pick up compostable trash from Thayer and transfer it to the composting facility. Facilities Operations & Management officials initially considered having the company pick up compostable garbage from Collis and the Hopkins Center as well, but found that the idea was not cost effective.
Instead a temporary worker was hired to transport the dining halls' compostable materials, but two months later, the worker announced his resignation after finding full-time employment working for Dartmouth Dining Services.
Given the difficulty in filling the part-time post, FO&M officials -- at the urging of Ashworth -- upgraded the job to a full-time position and on September 3, a new worker was hired.
Tables with pamphlets informing students about the progress of the composting program will be set up in each dining hall later in the term and Ashworth welcomes blitzes from anyone with questions about the program.
In the meantime, students who have been separating their trash have been under the impression that it was being composted.
