University Dining knows hungry students constantly forget their eyes are bigger than their stomachs when they come to the dining hall for a little din-din after a hard day of studying. Students readily reach for that extra burger or spoon out that heaping bowl of pudding, only to later realize they’re not hungry anymore. This leads to the age-old question about what happens to surplus food after the plate is tugged out of view on that mysteriously wet conveyor belt.
In case there was any confusion, the room where the conveyor belt goes is the dishwashing room and many people work very hard to keep the dishes clean, so smile and thank them next time you see a dining employee. But, the food refuse has a surprising, new destination. Instead of being sent to the landfill, the food in all three dining halls is now being sent to Goldston, North Carolina, and returning as nutritious compost.
After an audit by Waste Reduction and Recycling, University Dining realized that around 70 percent of the waste was compostable. Since N.C. State University’s goal is to divert 65 percent of their waste from the landfill by 2015, University Dining knew this was a great way to do their part. While they already have many other sustainable initiatives, like going tray-less to save water, recycling cooking oil and implementing a successful take-out program, University Dining saw this as an opportunity to get even greener.
While composting in the dining halls happens mostly behind the scenes, it’s not the only place where composting is happening on-campus. Waste Reduction and Recycling also helps organizations compost at special events, and new bins have been popping up all year.
This year at Friday Fest, 36 percent of the waste generated was composted instead of being thrown away, and only 18 percent of waste from the whole event ended up in the landfill. Waste Reduction and Recycling also diverts yard-waste and animal bedding from the landfill by composting what could be garbage into useful and nutritious plant food.
While it seems that composting is taking over campus, there is still lots more composting that can be done. Each year, Waste Reduction and Recycling is doing more and more to work toward the campus goal — 65 percent of waste being diverted from the landfill by 2015. Students are in integral piece in making sure the University reaches its goal, and must do their part to compost when possible. When composting receptacles are not available, recycling bins are always around.
Each bottle that is recycled and each meal that is composted is one less thing in the landfill, and the contents of trashcans on-campus indicate that many people still don’t recycle or think about composting. So, give waste a new life by composting and recycling materials and letting them become something else.
Chris Cioffi is a senior in English and an intern for the Office of Sustainability.