By: Lilly Figueroa
When you think of meaningful food, does a bucket of food scraps come to mind? If not, I’m about to tell you why it should!
Composting is the process in which organic material is decomposed into a soil product. The EPA estimated that 30-40% of food in the United States is discarded to landfills. However, composting has been made a priority by leaders in sustainability at Colorado State University. The university itself ranks among the highest in the United States for being environmentally-friendly and strives for a greener future. CSU Housing and Dining Services are committed to “zero waste” by involving staff, faculty, and students.
How it All Began
Colorado State University first began composting at the foothills campus in March of 2017. Their goal was to become “financially self-sufficient.” By September of 2017 the student-run, ‘zero waste’ team, diverted 1000 pounds of compostable waste from the first six football games of the year. Between April and December, 396 tons or 45 elephants worth of food and other organic material was saved from landfills.
Image of the creation of the “The Windrow” in 2016 by Julia Rentsch, Rocky Mountain Collegian
The Windrow
“The Windrow” is the name of the foothills compost facility. The Windrow facility follows four principles; dedication to students, waste reduction, active use of compost products, and future planning. As a student-led program, the Windrow emphasizes undergraduate and graduate work and volunteer opportunities within composting. The program says, “[its] part of CSU’s mission to teach future leaders about sustainability.” Compost processed at the Windrow consists of compostable food containers, food, animal waste and bedding. The products are utilized in on-campus landscaping and horticulture as well as being donated to community members and local farms.
Compost is the Future
I had the opportunity to learn about compost during the summer of 2023. As an up-and-coming sustainable tourism student, I wanted to sustainably travel for myself. I did this through a program called WWOOF or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. I spent seven weeks working on farms in Italy, Slovenia and Greece. I discovered through this program that Europe has a compost-culture. Composting is widely accepted and normalized throughout the varying countries I was in. This was a surprise for me coming from a place that saw food waste as gross and unusable.
Throughout my time abroad I learned about how eggshells can be refed to chickens to improve their calcium intake or that onions shouldn’t be composted with other food waste as they have certain microorganisms that kill healthy bacteria. While working at a permaculture and mindfulness practice center in central Italy I experienced the intricate process of composting first hand. Food scraps were kept in a bucket in the house and once full, the bucket was carried outside to buckets which had been buried; only their lids were exposed. These buckets had holes drilled into the bottom of them so that worms and other insects could enter, eat the food and aid in the compost cycle. These buckets were buried at the bases of various fruit trees and bushes. The process derived from whole-systems thinking and inspired my own interest in compost.
Working on these farms also cleared some of my previous misconceptions regarding compost. Yes, compost can sometimes be smelly. But, that is only when left uncovered. A simple lid can mitigate the sometimes unpleasant reality. Also, it is so easy to compost. Expensive containers and extensive research is not needed to compost. Simply being aware of food waste is part of understanding meaningful food.
Image of the permaculture orchard at “Pardesa” a farm in Pianoro, Italy. Image by author.
Meet OSCAR
While the Windrow is the compost management facility, Earth Flow, fondly known as Oscar is the actual in-vessel composting system that now processes 2,000 pounds of material per day. Oscar is operated by student interns in Soil and Crop Sciences. Operators of Oscar say,
What is the Future of “Zero Waste?”
Is ‘zero waste’ even possible? What would that look like? The Environmental Protection Agency says that communities around the world are working toward zero waste solutions. The peer-reviewed international definition of zero waste is, “The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.” Composting aligns with these values as it returns recycled food resources and often packaging, to a natural and healthy state.
At Colorado State University, excess compost products are sold to community businesses through Surplus Property. This fulfills the sustainability teams’ goal of being financially sufficient. Today, Colorado State University reroutes 300,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill each year. According to Jennifer Williams, integrated solid waste program manager at the foothills campus, “CSU as a whole composted 1,115 tons in 2021, 1,327 tons in 2022, and 702 tons in January through June of 2023.” The sustainability team at CSU believes in an interconnectedness between the planet, human health, and living and nonliving systems. They continue to work to administer sustainable greatness.
We Need YOU
Housing and Dining Services make an effort to make compostable containers, coffee cups, and utensils. Students can search for the “compostable” label on compostable products. Colorado State University also provides staff, faculty, and students with a “Waste Sorting Guide,” map of resident hall waste stations and reference to waste sorting bins on their website. These guides act to encourage composting efforts. In the end, it’s up to you to compost. As students, we have a profound impact on compost at Colorado State University, in the community of Fort Collins and upon the climate of the world. Each of us can make a difference by choosing not to contribute to food waste.
Colorado State University “waste-sorting guide” by CSU Housing and Dining Services.
In 2018, Food Nation produced an article titled, “Tackling the 1.6 Billion-Ton Food Loss and Waste Crisis” in which they shared, “… the food waste disaster has far reaching implications, … it [food waste] accounts for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.” Therefore it is clear that our actions toward food waste hold us globally accountable. “Meaningful food” describes our responsibility as global citizens to be aware of food waste and initiate positive action toward reducing it. This begins by educating ourselves and by composting.
With ‘Zero Waste,’ we can have zero worry.
About the Author
My name is Lilly Figueroa. I am a Freshman at Colorado State University majoring in Natural Resources Global Tourism and minoring in German. I am also part of the University Honors program. Through Honors I’m enrolled in a discussion-based seminar called, “You Are What You Eat.” In this class we learn about how food is significant to our everyday lives while sharing our own culinary experiences. I first became interested in taking this class after working on four different farms throughout Italy, Slovenia and Greece in the summer of 2023. I was inspired by the importance of food to different cultures and how sustainably grown produce can improve health.
References
Halls. (2020, April 20). Housing & Dining Services Composting Tour. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpRCCMz9YFs
Hegnsholt, E., Unnikrishan, S., Pollmann-Larsen, M. (2018). Tackling the 1.6 billion-ton food loss and waste crisis. The Boston Consulting Group. Food Nation. State of Green. (1).
How Communities Have Defined Zero Waste. (2023, June 5). Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved November 5, 2023 from https://www.epa.gov/transforming-waste-tool/how-communities-have-defined-zero-waste
Rentsch, J. (2016, March 29). Proposal for windrow composting operation interdepartmentally endorsed. The Rocky Mountain Collegian.
Sustainability at Facilities Management – Composting | Facilities Management | Colorado State University. (n.d.). Facilities Management | Colorado State University. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from https://www.fm.colostate.edu/recycling/#:~:text=Our%20Compost%20Story&text=Initial%20funding%2C%20to%20construct%20the,staff%2C%20faculty%2C%20and%20students.
Sustainability Begins at the Compost Pile – Arapahoe County Extension. (2023, January 5). Arapahoe County Extension. https://arapahoe.extension.colostate.edu/2023/01/05/sustainability-begins-at-the-compost-pile/Zero Waste – Housing & Dining Services. (n.d.). Housing & Dining Services – Colorado State University. Retrieved November 5, 2023, from https://housing.colostate.edu/about/sustainability/zero-waste/
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