Beloit College Composting Project

An independent student assessment of the

viability of food waste composting in
Commons Dining Hall

Luke McGinnis Cate

Drew Pitney Higginson

Beloit College
Beloit WI, 53511
May 1, 2005

Contents

Acknowledgments

iv

History of The Beloit College Composting Project:

Composting Feasibility at Beloit College

Appendices:
Appendix 1: Introduction to Institutional Composting

Appendix 2: City of Beloit Municipal Code

Appendix 3: Useful People

Appendix 4: Interviews

11

I.

Tuesday, February 17, 2004: Ken Jones, Director of Physical Plant

II.

Thursday, February 19, 2004: Bill Behling, Director of Food Service

III.

Thursday February 26, 2004: Peter Kraemer, Executive Chef

Appendix 5: Online Resources

14

Appendix 6: Earth Tub Information

16

Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary

18

Waste audit supplies/ Set-up Information

Picture of the set-up used in Commons Dinning Hall
Waste Audit Data Chart
Waste Audit Graphs: Meals Served in Commons/Waste Stream Composition
Appendix 8: Cost Savings Summary

22

Appendix 9: Composting Brochure

23

ii

From Filth

to Fertilizer

iii

Acknowledgments

The often-quoted Margaret Mead once said Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens
can change the world. Indeed, it is the only that that ever has. The journey to attempt composting has been arduous,
but along the way we have encountered many people who fit Meads definition of world-changers. If not for Natalie
Gummer, Lukes FYI advisor, he may never have had the idea to begin a composting project. Her excitement and
support helped propel Luke and give the project its first legs. Yaffa Grossman has officially advised us on and off
with different special projects, but she has always been a supporter of our project. Yaffa kept us on our toes and kept
us thinking about different ways to present our findings and guided us to different steps to take along the road.
Making real, lasting changes in an infrastructure takes not only activism from the outside, but also relies on
the good faith and support of the staff that is a part of that infrastructure. At Beloit College, we have been extremely
fortunate to have staff that are friendly, easy to talk to, and who are not afraid to contribute to and support a new idea
from a couple of students. Bill Behling, Director of Food Service, has given us free reign to do waste audits and has
been supportive, yet firm about what he can and cant do, always with a smile. He has researched a lot of information
for us and has been a great ally to have on our side. Ken Jones, Director of Physical Plant, has also give his precious
time to do interviews and research different costs for us, as well as printing up different documents. We only ran into
John Nicholas, Vice President for Administration and Treasurer, near the end of our project, but he was open and
willing to listen to our ideas and give suggestions of his own. John pointed out some very important details that we
had been missing. John was also helpful in using his resource to connect us to the Town of Beloit. Bea Lengjak,
Recycling Coordinator for the Town of Beloit, has gone to great ends to look up different possibilities for composting.
Bea took us to a Talk and Tour in Milwaukee and she has put a lot of time and effort into helping us. She may hold
the future of composting.
Finally, none of the project could have worked without the grunt labor to hold it up. Below are the names of
the wonderful volunteers that committed to our Waste Audits and took their precious time to help us with something
that they believed in.

Jenny Agin
Tanya Bell
Melissa Dahl
Becky Dewing
Carolyn Gennaric
Stuart Evans
Grace Hall
Ruth Hamilton

Jessica Hansen
Paul Hansen
Alex Hoover
Lisa Johnston
Meg Kiley
Julia Leavengood-Boxer
Melissa Magnuski
Colleen McGroarty

iv

Laura Peterson
Anne Rogers
Rebecca Schaeffer
Jess Sheldon
Jean Taggart
Ellen Underwood
Laura Zeiger

Introduction
Luke Cate and Drew Pitney Higginson are sophomores at Beloit College in Beloit, WI, in Spring 2005.
They initiated the Beloit College Composting Project in Spring 2004. The purpose of their project was to
bring composting to their college cafeteria. This report is the culmination of three semesters of their
research. As they have not yet established a composting system, this paper is intended to provide
background knowledge to anyone interested in continuing the Beloit College Composting Project. It should
also be a resource to composting advocates in other locations. Drew and Luke are both leaving after Spring
semester 2005, Drew permanently and Luke for a semester or two. In the following pages Drew and Luke
each give their own description of the history of their project with Luke in standard font and Drew in italics.
Luke:

The Beloit College Composting project had its roots in my First Year Initiatives (FYI) interdisciplinary
seminar. This class had Personal Choice and Global Responsibility as its theme, and each of us had to design
and implement a community service project dealing with issues of citizenship and action. My first project, a
communal bike fleet to be built out of donated and abandoned bicycles and maintained by students, lost
momentum after my first year, due to prolonged institutional delays and bureaucratic barriers to getting a
workspace, as well as waning interest on my own part and the part of my collaborating classmate.
The idea of composting food waste from Commons was obvious to me from the first meal I ate there. In
fact, I was pretty surprised that there was no composting going on. My family does composting at home, and both
the summer camps I have been involved with in various capacities (camper, then counselor) since I was 11 years
old also revolve around responsible use of resources and giving back to the earth.
Drew:
My personal effort toward the composting project started with me saying Why dont we have composting
at Beloit? Coming from a green oriented family in the Pacific Northwest, it was hard for me to come to
Wisconsin where people are not as knowledgeable about environmental issues and lifestyles. I became frustrated
by walking past laundry rooms, study lounges and bathrooms where the lights were always left on. It seemed like
too much work to get the administration to post signs and stickers to educate the campus. So I simply made some
myself and posted them near the public light switches. It was with this do-it-yourself or it-wont-get-done attitude
that I began thinking about how I should go about implementing a composting program at Beloit College.
The story of composting has been ridden with challenges, bureaucracy, inability to create momentum
and just plain bad luck. Has anything positive come of this? For me I suppose that it has been a learning
experience about the importance of vision and preparation for the unthinkable things that can take place. Also,
I have enjoyed working with Luke, despite our few arguments, and it has been encouraging to work with someone
with such a persistent desire for sustainability.
The Beginning
Luke:

My interest in seriously looking at starting a composting program at Beloit College was sparked by
Natalie Gummer, my FYI instructor. I mentioned to her my dismay that the cafeteria had no composting system in
place. She was very enthusiastic about a student researching and coordinating a composting system. Natalie is a
passionate gardener and has several small in-vessel composters in her yard.
Natalies excitement convinced me to do a special project my second semester. I researched institutional
composting methods, and did interviews with Beloit staff and administration to assess the specific situation at
Beloit in order to recommend an appropriate system for the College. Yaffa Grossman in Biology advised me for
the special project, directing me to previous student projects on campus sustainability as well as online sources
compiled by other colleges and universities. The institutional composting methods I researched included
vermiculture (worm composting), in-vessel composting, and variations on outdoor windrow composting (see
Appendix 1: Introduction to Institutional Composting). I read about the processes that other institutions had gone
through in setting up composting. Some were student initiatives, others started with a passionate faculty member
or conscientious physical plant director1. In some cases, the director of the food service was the one who had the
idea and who led the effort.
1

Bartlett, Peggy; Chase, Geoffrey W. (eds.). 2004. Sustainability on Campus. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. A
great book about campus greening efforts at diverse institutions.

Composting Feasibility at Beloit College

About midway through spring 2004, I had a chance encounter with an acquaintance in the Chapin
computer lab. It turned out that Drew was also interested in getting the campus to compost and had been
researching on his own. We decided to band together to pursue the initiative and we worked together informally
for the rest of the semester.
Drew:
When I met Luke in the computer lab, I had recently written an email to my cousin Joel asking about the
composting project he started as a student at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. Joel was excited about my idea
and gave me a lot of advice. It turns out he did a lot of the work all by himself and had problems getting
consistent volunteers, perhaps a foreshadowing of difficulties in our future. It was while reading one of Joels
emails in the computer lab that I happened across my friend Luke Cate and our united efforts began.
From the beginning we knew that there were going to be challenges. The Municipal code of Beloit states
that it is illegal to compost anything other than raw fruit, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds and tea leaves"
(Appendix 2: Municipal Code). We wanted to compost more than this; we wanted to compost at least cooked foods
and hopefully meat. I thought that these laws were simply old and outdated, so I called the city manager. To my
dismay, the laws were not outdated and the city manager felt strongly that composting was a bad thing. However,
Lukes special project advisor, Yaffa Grossman, told us that the college carries a lot of weight in the community.
She said it would not be difficult to get a variance to the code once we had an idea of what we wanted. Luke and I
decided to continue. We thought that once we had found a good system and gotten the logistics squared away then
we could ask for a variance to the code.
Luke:
We wanted to check with staff about composting feasibility. I interviewed the director of Physical Plant,
Ken Jones (Appendix 3: Useful People), about current waste management procedures including trash and yard
waste disposal, concerns about a composting system on campus and the use of finished compost in campus
landscaping. I interviewed director of Food Services, Bill Food Dude Behling about the number of meals served
per day in Commons, the quantity of food waste produced, and trash bin emptying procedures. I later interrogated
Commons Head Chef Peter Kraemer about the possibility of doing an audit of Commons food waste in order to
quantify it more precisely than previous estimates. For transcripts of these interviews see Appendix 4: Interviews.
Drew:
Luke had a list of college composting websites and I knew of some schools through talking with my cousin
(Appendix 5: Online Resources). However, many places did not fit the description of Beloit College. Most Schools
used open-air systems that take up a lot of room and can create odors. This would not work in the residential area
of Beloit, where there is little space. After reviewing different types of systems (Appendix 1: Introduction to
Institutional Composting), we decided that an in-vessel system would be best. After much research, we decided on
a system called the Earth Tub. The Earth Tub was the only system that we could find that would fit the size
requirements of Beloit College (Appendix 6: Earth Tub Information). We initially estimated that our cafeteria
would have about 500 lbs of waste per day, we later found it to be 320 lbs/day (Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up
and Summary). Most of the systems we encountered were too big, meant for small city, or too small, meant for
backyard composting.
Waste Audits
Luke:

At the beginning of the fall semester of 2004, Drew and I had a good idea of where we wanted to go. We
decided it was necessary to do a waste audit to determine exactly how much waste was actually coming out of
Commons. Out first waste audit entailed getting volunteers to help us sort out the trash as it was brought out on
the way to the trash compactor. We wore rubber gloves and sorted the waste into five categories: meat, non-meat
food, napkins, recyclables, and non-recyclable trash. We then weighed each category using a bathroom scale.
After compiling the data from that audit and consulting Yaffa, we decided we needed more extensive data
over time to give a more accurate picture of the average waste. To this end we recruited our previous helpers as
well as additional students to help us carry out the audits. We decided to do seven waste audits over seven weeks,
one on each day of the week to get a balanced estimate. We also changed the format of the waste audits. Instead
of opening the trash bags and doing all the sorting ourselves, we placed a table inside Commons near the tray
dump and had the students separate their trash into bins. This made our project more visible and allowed us to
gauge the feasibility of students separating their own trash, which they would eventually have to do with a
composting system. See Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary for a picture of the setup.
We reduced the number of categories to three, since we did not expect the students to have any trash
besides napkins and food waste on their trays. We made nice signs for the bins that listed the three categories:

Composting Feasibility at Beloit College

meat, non-meat food, and napkins. We also made laminated table flyers explaining our waste audits purpose and
encouraging students to segregate their waste beforehand to expedite tray dumping.
During these seven waste audits we determined the number of people that were served each meal, and
from that we found the total meals served per day (Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary). We
accomplished this with the help of Jane Luety in Dining Services. Jane gave us data from the card swipe machine
in Commons.
After compiling the data into a spreadsheet, we determined that the average daily waste during the school
year is approximately 320 lbs/day (Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary). This allowed us to estimate
the size and number of composting vessels that we would need to buy. We began to think about making a
proposal to student government to provide funding for the purchase of the vessels. We decided to use two of the
Earth Tub units, about $8,000 each, so we knew the amount we needed to ask for. We also determined how
much composting would save the College in waste hauling and land filling costs, and fill dirt and mulch
purchases. See Appendix 8: Cost Savings Summary for this analysis.
Funding
Luke:

When we came back after winter break, in spring semester 2005, we contacted the treasurer of student
government to ask that our proposal be considered for funding from the thirty thousand dollars that was extra in
the student government budget. He said that the approximately sixteen thousand dollars we were requesting was
too much to be included in the budget committees recommendation, but that we could try to get money from the
other proposals. This looked like a fair bid for at least part of the funds, at least until some of the student forum
representatives brought up the legal issues of composting within the city of Beloit.
As stated previously, composting in Beloit is limited to raw fruit and vegetable scraps, tea leaves and
coffee grounds in a vessel of no more than 125 cubic feet, 5 feet high, and at least 20 feet from any inhabited
building (Appendix 2: Municipal Code). We had known this, but had gotten the impression that with the
Colleges influence it would be easy to get a variance from the city in order to go through with our project, which
included composting cooked food and possibly meat.
Drew:
Luke and I had designed a summary sheet of our project to sell the idea to students and staff or wherever
we could get funding (Appendix 9: Composting Brochure). Luke sent this information and a pamphlet that Earth
Tub had sent us describing the system. Luke also sent along a note scribbled on a piece of paper. The
unprofessional nature of the note may have had an effect on the citys decision.
All of these materials indicated that the system was air tight, that it had no smell (later we found that
some places had had smell problems with the Earth Tub) and that it would not let in any animals. We thought
that after addressing these issues, the city would understand that in using an enclosed compost system, the
reasons the laws were in place would not be problems. We were wrong.
Soon after we sent in the information we received a reply and it was NO. The city attorney said that there
was no reason that they should give us a variance to the code. So here we were without a system to use and it was
illegal to do the composting.
Luke:
Student government wasnt going to give any money to an illegal project, and now we couldnt even
compost cooked food or meat on campus. We thought that it would not be worth the effort to compost just the raw
scraps, and to boot, numerous businesses and institutions that had used the Earth Tub reported that it was
unreliable and of poor construction, requiring constant repairs and maintenance. We were at a standstill for the
moment.
Earth Tub Flaws
Drew:

Around the time that our request for a variance was rejected by the city, we decided that, even though we
knew that the Earth Tub was the perfect system, we should make sure that we were making the right choice. We
contacted users of the system, just to make sure that everything was all right. We also wanted to ask them a few
questions on the workings of the Earth Tub. Luke and I each contacted four locations that had installed the
Earth Tub system. All of the places that we contacted either had just started using the system or had had
negative experiences with the system. The problems included: the top of the Tub collapsing and problems with the

Composting Feasibility at Beloit College

auger that aerates and mixes the compost. The Department of Public Works: Santa Cruz even created a document
about problems with Earth Tub. http://www.dpw.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/downloads/5-operational_issues.pdf
New Plans at the Township of Beloit
Drew:

These problems with the city bureaucracy led Yaffa to send us to John Nicholas, Vice President for
Administration and Treasurer of the College (Appendix 3: Useful People). It seemed like we should have
approached John much earlier in the process because he had a lot of good ideas for us and he said that if he had
talked to the Health Department for us that we might have had a better chance to get a variance.
Luke:
John had a very pragmatic view of the challenges and coordination necessary for it to succeed. He joined
us in the discussion soon after we were turned off of the Earth Tub, and after being rejected by the city for a
variance. We began to discuss the possibility of getting the city council to change the Municipal Code to allow for
composting. This seemed unlikely given that the Health Department told us that they had had problems with
compost systems in the past. This probably meant sanitation, odor or pest problems. This path would also require
a great deal of time and effort.
Drew:
John also contacted the Township of Beloit where composting is not illegal. He thought that they might be
willing to connect us with a farm in the area to work out an agreement where they would compost our waste and
then could use it on their fields. During Spring Break, John talked to the Township and found that, yes, they
would be interested in looking for a farm to do composting for us.
Luke and I had already researched different organic farms in the area. We had looked at Angelic
Organics, which does its own composting, but does not have the capacity to process our amount of waste
(Appendix 5: Online Resources). We also looked at Robins Roost Organics, run by Robin Cook, who will be
delivering fresh produce to Commons cafeteria in 2005-06. Robin said at the present time she does not have
enough capacity, but that we should contact her in fall 2005 (Appendix 3: Useful People).
Once John Nicholas got in touch with the Township, he directed us to Bob Museus who then directed us
to Bea Lengjak, the recycling coordinator at the Township of Beloit (Appendix 3: Useful people).
Luke:
Most recently we have been talking to Bea about finding a farm, piece of land, or a pig farmer to take our
food scraps. She generously took us to a waste liquefier demonstration event near Milwaukee sponsored by
WasteCap Wisconsin. At this Talk and Tour we learned about the technology, which sounds great, but is still
very expensive (Appendix 1: Introduction to Institutional Composting).
Future
Luke:

John emphasized that we needed a plan as to which college department would be in charge of the
composting in the long run, as this stable leadership would be necessary due to the transient student body.
Drew:
One of Johns biggest worries was about the continuity of our project and what would happen after Luke
and I graduated. I am a mechanical engineering major and am enrolled in Beloits 3-2 Engineering Program,
meaning that spring 05 was my last semester. Also, Luke was planning to take a semester at minimum away from
Beloit. Luke and I discussed ways that we could get someone to continue our project. We called some meetings
with people who had helped us with the waste audits in the past. At the first meeting, no one showed up and at the
second, only one person came. Perhaps we should have been more aggressive in our recruiting or perhaps we
should have gotten people more involved earlier. During the waste audits we had quite a bit of interest in our
project but afterwards we were unable to keep this momentum; we really could not figure out anything for people
to do. In the end we decided to make this report that you are reading now as complete as possible so a person
with the desire to continue our project would not have to start from scratch.
Luke:
I believe a long-term commitment is necessary in order to work through all the complications and
coordination necessary to implement a campus change such as composting. This commitment could come from a
dedicated student or group of students who work through their four years at Beloit. It could also come from a paid
position like a Recycling Coordinator or it could come from an institution-wide focus on sustainability as
embodied in an official environmental mission statement. This approach will probably produce the most results
in the long term, not just in waste reduction, but also in responsible purchasing, green buildings, and alternative
transportation and energy initiatives. However, even just getting an environmental mission statement would
require a lot of work getting opinions, building support and awareness, and ensuring a meaningful follow-through.

Composting Feasibility at Beloit College

This requires time and dedication, and for students whose main focus is necessarily and explicitly on their studies,
this project could be daunting.
Solutions to all the obstacles can be found, and a composting program can definitely be beneficial to the
College, educationally, environmentally, and financially. It just needs a person or group with cooperative and
creative labor.
Suggestions
Luke:

In order to sustain an effort at campus sustainability, I think the workload needs to be spread among a few
people. It would have helped Drew and me to have other people working to move forward when we felt burned
out. Starting a club that meets weekly and organizes fun as well as instrumental activities for its members would
be a great step towards sustaining an effort at composting. I also recommend that some of the new classes that are
part of the Environmental Studies major take on composting and other campus issues as class initiatives. A lot of
good work can be done in this setting. This was just demonstrated by the green building recommendations
produced by the interdisciplinary Sustainable Buildings course for the new science building.
Drew:
The main reason, in my mind, that the compost project was not implemented is because Luke and I were not
able to continue with it. I think that we would have been able to build up the needed momentum to make the
project a success. I think that someone taking over the project should not have a large problem with maintaining
a good volunteer base. It is important that these volunteers feel useful so that they will continue to help and will
give their ideas and time to the project. Perhaps a group with officers and weekly meetings would be optimal. In
addition to compost, I also think that it would be great to explore ways to make people aware of their waste at
Commons and to have an educational campaign to teach people to waste less food. I think that this project is
feasible if a group of people is willing to put in time and effort and steadfastly pursue the goal.
For anyone interested in continuing the Beloit College Composting Project, this manual as well as other
useful information that Luke and I have compiled will be stored with Biology professor Yaffa Grossman.

Appendix 1: Introduction to Institutional Composting

For composting large amounts of food, yard and landscape waste, or agriculture manure and waste, there
are several methods in common use. The first is windrow composting, which is done in an open area in large piles
or rows. The second is vermiculture, which is worm composting and done usually in large shallow trays. The third
is in-vessel composting, which uses an enclosed container to compost waste.
Windrow composting has several variations, mainly differing in the method of aeration. Static windrows
are left alone, using ambient air to provide oxygen to the microbes. Passively aerated windrows use perforated
ventilation pipes that lie underneath and through the piles to allow fresh airflow. Actively aerated windrows use
the same porous tubes as passively aerated windrows, but air is forced into these tubes by blowers. The last
variation is mechanical aeration, in which the piles are turned or mixed by a tractor in order to allow oxygen to
permeate them.
Windrows are low-tech, cheap (depending on the aeration method and sophistication of controls), and
ideal for composting large amounts of waste in rural locations. However, wastewater and leachate (liquid released
during composting) drainage must be controlled so that it does not contaminate groundwater or waterways. The
composition and moisture of the piles must be monitored to minimize odors. The only other way to control odors
is to use actively-aerated windrows that actually suck air through the pile and into the tubes. The air can then be
filtered before being released to the atmosphere.
Another large control issue is vermin. If there is meat or other types of food in a windrow, it may attract
pests. These can be mice, rats, raccoons, and possibly even scavengers like vultures. For this reason it is best to
eliminate all possible meat from the waste stream. The windrows should also be covered with a layer of bulking
agent for insulation and odor and pest control.
Vermiculture composting uses worms to eat and digest food waste. Red Wriggler type worms are the
preferred species. The worms are added to a mix of food waste and bedding agent, such as newspaper or shredded
paper. They eat their way through the food waste, and poop out castings that are a rich and porous type of
compost. The worms multiply in a matter of weeks to days if conditions are right. The worms are sensitive to
vibrations and light, meaning they will stop eating and reproducing if there is vibration or changing levels of light.
They also require specific levels of moisture, temperature, and pH.
Although the worms can eat through a lot of waste and produce high quality castings, they cannot live in
below freezing weather. For this reason they are not a good choice in Beloit, WI, where temperatures get to
twenty-below. There would be no place for them inside and the winters are too harsh outside.
In-vessel composting is a third option that is currently widely used at U.S. institutions. This system uses
an enclosed container to process waste. The containers range in size from several gallons for your backyard, to
hundreds of tons per day for a metropolitan composting operation. They also differ significantly in sophistication.
Some are simple cylindrical drums that are filled, allowed to sit for a few weeks or months with occasional
turning by rotating the drum, and then emptied. The most complex systems have conveyor belts, shredders,
mixers, and computerized sensors and controls. The in-vessel composters that would be sized for Commons

Appendix 1: Introduction to Institutional Composting

waste stream usually have some provision for loading (a hatch), mixing (an auger), aeration (blowers), emptying
(another hatch), and basic monitoring (thermometer on a stick).
The main benefits of an in-vessel compost system are odor and vermin control, insulation from cold, and
that they are eye-friendly. These benefits are essential for installation in a residential area such as the
neighborhood surrounding Beloit
Waste liquification is a technology, new to the US, that was developed in and is widely used in Europe.
There is only one such system installed in the United States as of 2005. Ecology LLC based in Glendale, WI,
installed this system and is ready for production as soon as they sell some units. Drew and Luke had the honor of
seeing this system in action at Pandls restaurant in Bayside, WI. We visited through a Talk and Tour hosted by
WasteCap Wisconsin, a recycling promotion organization.
The waste liquefier has a sink-like receptacle in the kitchen to dump waste. A vacuum mechanism draws
the waste to the main tank where it is shredded up and stored as a slurry. This system reduces worker injuries
from taking out the garbage. It also reduces kitchen clutter due to many garbage cans. The liquefied waste can be
stored in the tank, which comes in 1000, 2000, and 4000 gallon models. The end product is piped into a truck and
delivered to the end user. The liquefied waste can be sprayed or injected onto fields as a plant fertilizer, or
digested anaerobically to produce methane gas, an alternative fuel.
The main drawback of this otherwise ingenious system is its $60,000 price tag. Ecology LLC hopes,
however, that with a production run of 50 systems, the price will drop to around $25,000. For comparative
purposes, an in-vessel system of the capacity needed for Commons costs from $5,000 to $20,000.

See Appendix 5: Online Resources for sources.

Appendix 2: City of Beloit Municipal Code

This is an excerpt from the City of Beloit Municipal Code that addresses composting:
17.06 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT, INCLUDING RECYCLING (Rep. & recr. #1716; Am. #2473; #2880;
#2961; #3024)
(1) PURPOSE. The purpose of this section is to promote the management, recycling and composting of solid
waste in accordance with 287.11, Wis. Stats., and Chapter NR 544, Wis. Adm. Code.
(2) DEFINITIONS. (Am. #3092) In this section the following terms shall have the meanings indicated below:
Composting. Controlled biological reduction of organic wastes to humus.
Compostable Materials. Leaves, grass clippings and garden debris.

(12) COMPOSTING. The purpose of this section is to promote the recycling of yard waste through composting
and to establish minimum standards for proper maintenance of compost piles and bins. All composting shall
comply with the following requirements:
(a) No compost bin shall exceed 125 cubic feet in volume and 5 feet in height.
(b) All compost piles and bins shall be so maintained as to prevent the attraction or harborage of rodents
and pests.
(c) All compost piles and bins shall be so maintained as to prevent the creation of odors that would
constitute a public nuisance.
(d) No compost pile or bin shall be located in any yard except a rear yard. All compost piles or bins shall
be located not less than 5 from a property line or 20 from an inhabited building.
(e) No compost bin shall contain any of the following:
1. Lake weeds.
2. Cooked food scraps, except coffee grounds and tea leaves.
3. Fish, meat or other animal products.
4. Large items that will impede the composting process.
(f) The following material may be placed in a compost bin:
1. Yard waste.
2. Raw vegetables and raw fruits that are suitable for composting.
3. Commercial compost additives.
(g) The generator of compostable materials shall be responsible for maintaining compost piles and bins
under his control in accordance with the requirements of this subsection.

Appendix 3: Useful People

Behling, Bill AKA the Food Dude
Director of Food Service
Commons Dining Hall - Chapin Hall
Beloit College
(608) 363-2738

Bill is the big dude in Commons; he gives out candy bars and special catered meals. At first, Bill was
skeptical about our desire to compost. In the past, students asked him to make changes in Food Service,
but would not get involved enough to see the true situation. Initially Bill said we could compost as long as
volunteer student labor did all the work (emptying and cleaning buckets, etc.). After our eight waste
audits, he saw our commitment and seemed more willing to cooperate. Any composting of food service
waste needs his approval. See Appendix 4: Interviews.
Cate, Luke
Beloit College Composting Project Co-Leader
catel@stu.beloit.edu (Until May 2007, unless I dont graduate.)
lukecate@hotmail.com (permanent email address)
(505) 989-1630 (Home phone in Santa Fe)

I am a coauthor of this paper. I hope that if you are reading it, you are interested in composting either at
Beloit or another institution. I am an Environmental Studies major (the first official major!) of the class of
2007. I am taking Fall semester 05 off to participate in a racecar building club at the University of New
Mexico. I will most likely be back either Spring 06 or Fall 06. In the meantime I can be reached through
my parents who live in Santa Fe, NM. Call me up if you need a place to stay on your way through!

Cook, Robin
Robins Roost Organics
robinsroost7@netzero.com

The coming fall (2005), Robin plans to deliver fresh produce from her farm to Commons cafeteria. We
asked if she was interested in composting our waste on her farm. She said that currently it would be too
large of a project. However, Robin said to contact her in the fall, as she may be interested in the future.

Crockett, Deb
Angelic Organics
Deb@CSALearningCenter.org

Deb works at Angelic Organics, an organic farm near Beloit and that is connected to the college. She is
the wife of Spiritual Life director Bill Conover, which is how we got in touch with her. We asked if she
was interested in composting our waste on her farm. The farm said that it would be too much waste for
them to handle and that it would be too labor intensive.
Grossman, Yaffa
Biology professor
Chamberlin 229
Beloit College
grossman@beloit.edu

Yaffa knows a lot about environmental issues. She helped create the Environmental Studies major. She
advised Luke on his first special project on Composting for Beloit? She also advised Drew and Luke on
their joint special project, Beloit College On-Site Composting Initiative. She will have the resources
that we used and created for the project.
Higginson, Drew Pitney
Beloit College Composting Project Co-Leader
(503) 502-3439 (cell phone)
higginso@stu.beloit.edu (until May 2007)
il4cosette@shushmail.com (semi-permanent email address)

I co-authored this paper with Luke. I am going to be a mechanical engineering major at Columbia
University until May 2007. I do not yet have an email address there, but you could probably look one up.
I wish you the best of luck in whatever type of composting project you are undertaking.

Appendix 3: Useful People

Jones, Ken
Director of Physical Plant
Smith Building
Beloit College
(608) 363-2200

Luke interviewed Ken for his first special project. Ken supplied us with data on the waste hauling
quantities and expenditures of the College. He evaluated the costs for installing the Earth Tub. See
Appendix 4: Interviews.

Kraemer, Peter
Commons Head Chef
Commons Dining Hall, Chapin Hall
Beloit College

Peter cooks a lot of the food in Commons and tells other workers what to do. Luke interviewed him for
his first special project. Peter approved and encouraged waste audits. See Appendix 4: Interviews.

Lengjak, Bea
Recycling Coordinator
Town of Beloit
(608) 364-2980

Bea was put on our case by Bob Museus. She was charged with finding a farm that would compost waste
for us. She was not able to find this (and neither were we). However, Bea gave us a few options. She
found an area where the Township previously had a compost center. Perhaps we could put a composting
machine here. She also got in touch with a pig farmer who might be interested in our waste, with the
exception of meat, to feed his pigs. Bea also arranged to take Luke, Drew and Adam Weitzenfeld on a
field trip to visit a liquid waste collection facility in a restaurant in Bayside, WI (near Milwaukee).

Museus, Bob
Administrator
Town of Beloit
(608) 364-2980

Bob is an administrator of the Town of Beloit and he said that he was interested in helping us connect
with a farm that could possibly take our waste and compost it for us. John Nicholas contacted him and
then he contacted us. When we called him, he directed us to Bea Lengjak as he had put her on the case.

Nicholas, John
Vice President of the Administration and Treasurer
Beloit College
(608) 363-2250

We talked to John after we sent an informal note (read: unprofessional) to the Health Department and got
rejected for a variance on the Municipal Code. We thought he could use his leverage as a senior
administrator to get the City to reevaluate our on-site composting proposal. He talked to his connections
in the City and found out that the best bet would be to look for a way to compost outside the city limits.
We probably should have come to him before we went to the Health Department originally. John has been
supportive of composting but has also given us a very pragmatic view of the organizational challenges we
would face. We recommend forming and maintaining a relationship of occasional meetings and
consultations with John or even including him in a working committee.
Phillips, Jackie
Beloit Health Department
(608) 364-6637
phillipsj@ci.beloit.wi.us

Jackie is a nice woman who works at the Health Department. We sent our proposal for the Earth Tub to
her, and she sent it to the City Attorney, who wrote back saying the project was illegal in several respects.
Jackie will need to make sure that any on-site components of composting (separation, storage of food
waste) are done in a sanitary and legal way.

10

Appendix 4: Interviews
I. Tuesday, February 17, 2004: Interview with Ken Jones, Director of Physical Plant at Beloit College
A) Landscape waste and disposal, compost demand
Luke: How are leaves and fallen branches from campus grounds disposed of?
Ken: They are taken to the municipal [yard waste] composting facility. (At this facility they are composted in
mechanically aerated windrows, using a front end loader.)
Luke: What happens to the grass clippings?
Ken: They are left on the lawns as mulch.
Luke: Would you have any use for finished compost on campus, such as for fill?
Ken: Sure, there are always projects that need fill material or mulch, especially if its free.
B) Trash and recycling collection and disposal
Luke: Who hauls our waste?
Ken: A company called Waste Management.
Luke: How often do they pull the dumpsters, and do they charge by weight, volume, per pull?
Ken: They pull on an as-needed basis, usually once every week or two. We call them whenever the compactor
gets full. They charge per ton, with quantities over three tons billed at a flat rate. [I got copies of waste disposal
bills from the company for a year, from which I will compile some figures. The bills were provided with the
actual price structure information censored, so I will have to assess that aspect of waste disposal in another
manner.]
Luke: How does the waste get collected on campus?
Ken: We used to have the trash, commingled and paper/cardboard dumpsters decentralized, three dumpsters at
almost every building, and they [the hauler at that time] were having to come around and empty them almost
every day. Now we have them centralized behind Commons, theres a compactor for trash and one for paper and
cardboard, and a commingled recycling dumpster. I have one man who collects all the trash and recycling with a
tractor and trailer, and it takes him all day, every day.
The recycling program was started in 90 or 91, I cant remember, by two women students. For a while they
would collect cans and store them, and then take them down to a center in Roscoe every weekend in a college
van. Then we took it over when students lost interest or were too busy with other things. While they were
organizing the program, they would go around to all the different floors and talk to the students about separating
cans and bottles, etc.
Luke: Do you foresee any potential problems or concerns for a composting program?
Ken: The main issue would by how to keep it clean, or sanitary or whatever. Composting usually has an odor and
can attract vermin. It couldnt be too close to the buildings for that reason, because of the smell. I dont know
where youre going to put it.

11

Appendix 4: Interviews
II. Thursday, February 19, 2004: Interview with Bill Behling, Director of Food Service, Beloit College
A) Food use and waste
Luke: How many meals do you serve per day?
Bill: 1500 meals a day would be a good average.
Luke: What sorts of waste do you produce in the kitchen?
Bill: In terms of food waste, therere the peelings and cores from preparing produce from the salad bar. Then
theres the food thats been served a couple times already, which we throw out. And of course there is a lot of
packaging. Produce usually comes in waxed cardboard boxes or plastic bags. We also throw out cans, bottles,
sacks, cartons, etc.
Luke: How many trashcans are there in the kitchen?
Bill: There are two in the dish room and about four or five others in the kitchen, so six or seven total. [Bill
referred to these as 55-gallon trashcans. The cans say 32 gallons on the bottom, and the bags used are 55-gallon
size, so I assume he was referring to the bag capacity. Presumably the cans only hold about 32 gallons,
maximum.]
Luke: How often do these get emptied?
Bill: The ones in the dish room are taken out after every meal, so three times a day. The others probably fill up
once or twice a day.
Luke: How is food left on plates disposed of?
Bill: We dont have a garbage disposal like we used to, so the food that is scraped off goes into the trash, and the
rest is rinsed off and the solid particles are strained out and thrown out.
Luke: Would Commons staff be able to separate food out and empty compost buckets in addition to trashcans?
Bill: That wouldnt be a problem, as long as the compost got picked up promptly every day. We cant have it
sitting around attracting vermin or creating odors, it would be unsanitary. The most important thing would be to
have committed student involvement to make sure it got dealt with every day.

12

Appendix 4: Interviews
III. Thursday February 26, 2004: Interview with Peter Kraemer, Executive Chef in Commons Dining Hall
A) Food Use and Waste
Luke: How many meals do you serve per day?
Peter: About 1400.
Luke: What sorts of waste do you produce in the kitchen?
Peter: We have fruit and vegetable peelings and cores from salad bar preparation, but we really dont waste very
much food. We do throw out a lot of packaging. Most of this is recycled, but three items come in waxed
cardboard boxes. Thats the eggplant, chicken for rotisserie, and one other thing. Most of the food waste is really
from students plates.
Luke: How often do you prepare vegetables for the salad bar?
Peter: We do fifty pounds of carrots at a time. We do it about every two or three days.
Luke: How many trashcans get filled in the dish room [post consumer waste]?
Peter: About two trashcans each at breakfast and lunch, and four at dinner.
Luke: How often do the other kitchen trashcans get emptied?
Peter: Maybe four or five times a day.
Luke: If I wanted to do a waste audit, when would be the best time to come?
Peter: After a meal, before the trash gets emptied. [The waste audit I wanted to do was to get trash from the
kitchen and separate out and weigh raw vegetable and fruit residuals, other types of cooked and raw post- and
pre-consumer food waste, paper and waxed cardboard, and other non-recyclable materials. This would give an
idea of the percentage of the Commons trash that is compostable, both in terms of the biological process and the
Beloit municipal code regulations.]
Luke: Would it be difficult for kitchen staff to separate out compostables like vegetable scraps into separate
buckets?
Peter: No.

13

Appendix 5: Online Resources

Allegheny County Pre-consumer Composting: This is a good report that includes an economic analysis of
composting, a pie graph of the waste stream composition (they probably did a waste audit!), and very
useful details about the specifics of the composting setups at participating businesses and institutions.
They talk about collection bin size, storage and transport of waste, and much more. PDF format.
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/RECYCLE/Tech_Rpts/Allegheny2.pdf
Angelic Organics: This is a local CSA farm that also does community education and sustainability projects. They
could not take our food waste because theres so much of it.
http://www.angelicorganics.com/
Composting Decision Guide: This is an extensive and in-depth guide to institutional composting and all the
planning decisions involved. Its about 80 pages long. Full title: Will Composting Work for Us? A
Decision Guide for Managers of Businesses, Institutions, Campuses, and Other Facilities.
http://www.cwc.org/organics/organic_htms/cm976rpt.htm
Costs of Recycling and Composting, The: This is a chapter of a book, in PDF format. It gives extensive
information on the administrative and process costs of various municipal waste composting systems. It
includes charts and case studies. The text on composting is probably more useful than all the cost charts.
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/recy-com/chap08.pdf
Dont Throw that Food Away: An interesting EPA document with composting case studies and waste diversion
percentage statistics for each method. It has valuable tips for would-be composters and an outline of
various costs and benefits to the community and the institution. This document could be very useful in
designing a persuasive proposal to the administration.
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:fmJnCxKmWGcJ:www.p2pays.org/ref/04/03040.pdf++food+wast
e+compost++project+budget+college+campus+&hl=en
Green Mountain Technologies: They call themselves the Organic Recycling Company"; they make the Earth
Tub in-vessel composting system. They are headquartered in Vermont.
http://www.gmt-organic.com/
Local Harvest Farm Guide: This organization keeps track of organic farms, Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA), restaurants, farmers markets. We used it to track down farms near Beloit that might be interested
in taking our food waste to compost it.
http://www.localharvest.org/
Medical University of South Carolina- Office of Recycling and Solid Waste Management: This site has
information on different recycling programs run by this Office, including an institutional
vermicomposting (worm composting) setup.
http://www.musc.edu/recycle/
Middlebury College Pathways to a Green Campus: This report is about greening Middlebury, as the title
suggests. It tells a bit about how the College became committed to campus sustainability. It is a good
source for information on how the process of greening the campus can go, like looking at relevant laws,
administrative hurdles, etc. There is nothing on composting in particular.
http://community.middlebury.edu/~enviroc/wmin.html
New York Prison Composting: This report details the factors that determine the appropriate on-site composting
system for managing the large food waste streams at various New York state correctional facilities.
http://www.jgpress.com/BCArticles/2000/050030.html

14

Appendix 5: Online Resources

Ohio Universities Waste Audits: 105 pages of everything you ever wanted to know about sorting trash and
analyzing the data. It includes many graphs, charts and figures breaking down the waste stream
composition of several universities across the nation. PDF format.
http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/recycling/sarcs/CampusWasteAudit.pdf++food+waste+compost++project+bud
get+college+campus+&hl=en
Santa Cruz Department of Public Works: A document outlining the problems and failures that occurred with
their use of the Earth Tub.
http://www.dpw.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/downloads/5-operational_issues.pdf
Sustainable Composting at Williams College: This is a very relevant report done by an Environmental Studies
class. They look at on-site composting versus a farm partnership, considering site characteristics, legal
issues.
http://www.williams.edu/CES/mattcole/resources/onlinepaperhtml/compost.html
University of California Davis Project Compost: This is a combined history of the University of California
Davis Project Compost, and a guide to setting up a composting system at a college or other institution.
It provides basic guidelines and information for decision-making. 10 pages in PDF format.
http://www.projectcompost.ucdavis.edu/Compost_Guide.pdf
University of Oregon Campus Recycling Program: This site includes many pages of information on recycling
and all aspects of campus sustainability. There is also a short summary of the U of Os composting
program as it stands now.
http://www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/main.htm
University of Oregon Recycling Primer: This is a well-organized report on many aspects of campus
sustainability that includes a good basic guide to composting, with resources and links.
http://www.uoregon.edu/~recycle/Book/index.htm
US Composting Council: Hear it straight from them: The USCC is a trade and professional organization
promoting compost. We provide a unified voice for the growing composting industry. The US
Composting Council is involved in research, public education, composting and compost standards,
expansion of compost markets and the enlistment of public support. Site includes links to publications,
order form and projects of the council.
http://www.compostingcouncil.org/index.cfm
Waste Cap Wisconsin: A non-profit organization that encourages responsible waste management and recycling
practices for businesses. The give good informational Talk and Tours.
http://www.wastecapwi.org/
Whitman College Green Campus Internship: This is a good story of how the Whitman Conservation
Committee researched and made recommendations for forming a Green Building Advisory Committee. It
is more about organizing and motivating change than specifically about composting.
http://www.whitman.edu/environmental_studies/internships/reports/green.htm
Wright Environmental Technologies: This company had a system that composted 600 lbs per day, about wright
for Beloit (get it? ). Unfortunately, after long delays in communication the owner told us they had
rearranged their inventory and no longer sold this model. The site has some interesting info on
institutional composting.
http://www.wrightenvironmental.com/index_nonflash.html

15

Appendix 6: Earth Tub Information

From: Description. 7 Sept. 2004. Green Mountain Technologies, Inc. 5 May 2005
<http://www.gmt-organic.com/EarthTub/et-info.htm>.

The Earth Tub

Commercial Duty Compost System
The Earth Tub is designed specifically for on-site composting of food-wastes.
The Earth Tub is a fully enclosed composting vessel featuring power mixing,
compost aeration, and biofiltration of all process air. This self-contained unit is
ideal for composting at schools, universities, restaurants, hospitals and
supermarkets.

The Earth Tub Process

Loading
Organic materials such as food scraps, manure or yard waste are loaded
through the large hatchway in the cover. Periodically, dry materials such as
wood chips, shredded paper or shavings can be added to insure that porosity
and moisture levels are ideal for composting.

Mixing
Turn on the auger motor and rotate the cover to shred and mix the new organic material into the active compost.
Two revolutions of the rotating cover are required to mix the outside and center of the Earth Tub. The auger will
shred and mix a ton or more of compost in 10-15 minutes. During active composting, the Earth Tub should be
mixed at least two times per week.

Appendix 6: Earth Tub Information

Aerobics and odor control

Maintaining aerobic conditions and controlling temperature are essential for composting and odor control. The
aeration system draws air through the compost and forces the exhaust air through our biofiltration air purification
system to remove odors. Liquids are collected and disposed to a sanitary sewer or holding tank. The overall
cleanliness of the in-vessel design allows the Earth Tub to be placed in commercial settings close to where waste
is generated.

Waste reduction
Heat generated in the Earth Tub rapidly breaks down the food scraps. The volume reduction is typically 70% or
higher. After 3--4 weeks of active composting, open the discharge doors and the auger pushes the compost out
as it rotates past the discharge door. The compost can be cured for 20-40 days for further stabilization.

Key features

Easy to operate
Rapid process reduces volume quickly
Heavy-duty plastic construction
Minimal need for bulking agent
Short time required for mixing/loading
Temperature controlled system
Insulated for cold weather operation
Thorough compost mixing
Biofilter odor control system

Specifications
Tub Vessel Height

48"

Overall Height

68"

Overall Diameter

90"

Foam Insulation

R-12

Shipping Weight

450 lbs

Volume

3 cubic yards

Mixing Auger

12" Diameter Stainless Steel

Auger Motor

3 Ph 2.5 hp 230/460V

Aeration Blower

80 CFM 100 watt

Power Usage

~1080 KWH per year

Liquid Drain

1 drain on biofilter

Processing Capacity

40-200 ppd*

* Pounds per day of biomass per Earth Tub.

17

Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary

Waste audit supplies

Recycling bins (7 or 8)
Plastic bags
Signs (Meat, Non-meat food, Napkins)
Bathroom scale
Rubber gloves
Laminated flyers to encourage people to separate the food on their trays
Sign for normal trashcan to direct people to the table where the bins are set up
Notebook to record weights of the various categories of waste. Pen to record waste.
The Morning Hour Set-Up (Breakfast only)

1. Get four or five blue recycling bins (one or two spares to use while you measure waste in the others).
2. Get out a table and set up the bins in this order, MEAT, NAPKINS, & NON-MEAT.
3. Put new plastic bags in the bins.
4. Put the flyers out on the tables.
5. Put up the sign that says COMPOST on a trash can in the kitchen & tell the food workers what you
are doing. Pick a can that is visible to the food workers.
6. Put a sign on the normal trashcan window and move the can out of sight.
7. Set out laminated flyers on each table to inform the eaters
During Meal Instructions (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

1. Make sure that people separate their trash correctly.

Anything with meat can go in the MEAT bin. Ex: bread on a bologna sandwich is okay
Teabags can go in the NON-MEAT
Wrappers and other trash can go in the small bucket near the table.
Use your own discretion, no worries
2. Weigh the bags when they get full
*Remember to subtract the weight of the bin
We write the weight 32 (28), 1st number is total weight and the 2nd is minus the bin
3. Have an extra bin ready to replace the one being weighed, so there is no hold up on the line.
4. Make sure that you get all of the metal containers that carry the hot food
The people that work at Commons will be carrying these, they may be hot so be careful
and know that they can melt the plastic bags.
End of Meal (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

1. Weigh bins, replace plastic bags, clean up the area

2. If it is Dinner clean up and put everything away.

18

Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary

Picture of the set-up used in Commons Dinning Hall.

19

Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary

Friday
Oct 29

Weds
Nov 3

Monday
Nov 8

Tuesday
Nov 16

Saturday
Nov 20

Thurs
Dec 2

Sunday
Dec 5

# Served
Meat

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Total

Non-Meat & Napkins
232
338
764
1334
5.7
24.5
48
78.2

Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

5
5.5
0
16.2

7
79
0
110.5

8.5
118.5
0
175

20.5
203
0
301.7

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

211
11
6
56
0
73

372
21
2
47.5
0
70.5

697
68
29
197
0
294

1280
100
37
300.5
0
437.5

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

242
8
3.25
80.5
0
91.75

394
16
3
100
0
119

704
28
5.5
150
0
183.5

1340
52
11.75
330.5
0
394.25

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

234
7
1
35
0
43

368
17
3.5
60
0
80.5

699
56
10
126.5
0
192.5

1301
80
14.5
221.5
0
316

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

67
0
0
15
0
15

645
27
8
120.5
4
159.5

549
37
5
61.5
0
103.5

1261
64
13
197
4
278

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

209
3.5
2
43
0
48.5

372
34
8
80
0
122

648
52.5
3.5
94
0
150

1229
90
13.5
217
0
320.5

# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

43
0
0.25
17
0
17.25

649
21
14
112.5
18
165.5

Averages
# Served
Meat
Napkins
Non meat
Kitchen
Total

NA
NA
NA
NA
NA
NA

692
21
14.25
129.5
18
182.75

223.5

337.5

342.25

236

210

230.5

143.75

Breakfast Lunch Dinner Total

Non-Meat & Napkins
177
448
677
1205
5
23
48
69
3
7
10
18
36
86
125
228
246
0
3
0
3
44
118
183
319

20

Appendix 7: Waste Audit Set-up and Summary

Meals Served in Commons:

Data is not from seven consecutive days in a week. Different days of the week were chosen over
the course of the fall semester.

Meat (Black), Non-meat (Dark Grey), Napkins (Light Grey)

Waste Stream Composition:
This is the amount of food waste we measured, averaged over all the meals we measured (see Figure 1
above). We had three categories: Meat, Non-meat, and Napkins; non-meat and napkins are the most
easily compostable.

21

Appendix 8: Cost Savings Summary

Bill Behlings Estimation of the Amount of Meals served per year in Commons
Academic Year (32 weeks):
1100
2925
5000

Breakfasts per week

Lunches per week
Dinners per week

35200
95200
162000

Breakfasts per year

Lunches per year
Dinners per year

Non-Academic year:
28000 meals per year (a minimum)
Total:
320400 total meals served per year (meal = one person served)
Calculation of Money Saved Per Year
Starting Figures:
320400 meals served at Commons per year (Bill Behling)
0.209 lbs of Napkins and Non-Meat waster per person per meal (Waste Audits)
$30.80 price per ton to dump waste (Physical Plant)
1600 lbs amount of waste per fill of Composter (Earth Tub)
1 cubic yard amount of compost created per fill of Composter (Earth Tub user)
$16.00 price per cubic yard of Black dirt used (they use 100 cubic yards per year) (Physical Plant)
Calculations:
Pounds of waste diverted:
320400 Meals per year x 0.209 lbs of waste = 66963.6 lbs of waste diverted/year
person
Money Saved by Commons:
66963.6 lbs of waste diverted x _1 ton__ x _$30.80_ = $1031 saved in dumping costs/year
year
2000 lbs
ton
Money Saved By Physical Plant:
66963.6 lbs of waste x __1 fill___ x 1 cubic yard = 41.85 cubic yards of dirt/year
year
1600 lbs
1 fill
41.85 cubic yards of dirt x
$16.00___ = $670 saved in dirt/year
year
cubic yard
Final Figures:
66963.6 lbs of waste diverted/year
41.85 cubic yards of dirt/year
$1031 saved by Commons in dumping costs/year
$670 saved by Physical Plant in dirt/year
$1700 saved by Beloit College per year

22

Appendix 9: Composting Brochure

BELOIT COLLEGE COMPOSTING PROJECT

BENEFITS
Decrease the environmental impact of the college
Reduce land-filled waste by 66,964 lbs per year
Increase the attractiveness of the campus to prospective students
Save Beloit College $1,700 in annual costs
GOALS
Installation of two Earth Tub composting units in the back of Commons cafeteria
Redesign of tray disposal system to accommodate waste separation and improve ease of use
Educational campaign for the campus on the benefits of compost and waste reduction
Creation of a work study internship to overlook the system
EDUCATION
The Biology Department can use the composting systems as a study tool
A work study internship will be created to maintain, monitor, record and study
An educational campaign to inform students about use of composting system will be undertaken
COST SAVINGS
Decrease amount of waste that is dumped annually and save $1031 per year
Decrease amount of dirt purchased by Physical Plant by 41.85 cu yds and save $670 annually
WHERE THE WASTE COMES FROM
Waste is separated by students at the cafeteria into compostable and non-compostable waste
Compost is taken out from Commons by Food Service Staff
This will decrease the amount of waste land filled by 66,964 lbs per year
WHERE THE FINISHED PRODUCT GOES
The compost will be used on campus by Physical Plant as fill dirt
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR
Research on different systems of composting, including contact with other colleges
Interviews and conversations with Physical Plant and Food Service
Eight day-long waste audits conducted to determine waste amounts and ratios
EARTHTUB SPECIFICS
Fully contained composting system
Odorless, closed to animals, sanitary, eye-friendly and insulated to work in winter
Uses an electric auger to mix and aerate compost
Thermophilic composting method kills pathogens and weed seeds
For More Information Contact:
Luke Cate
catel@stu.beloit.edu
(608) 363-4140

Drew Pitney Higginson

higginso@stu.beloit.edu
(608) 363-4687