Composters make use of trash

By Tom Sullivan

A group of students spent last Sunday afternoon digging through trash.

The Green Club and other student volunteers were learning about composting at Mission Trail Waste Systems.

Composting is the biodegrading of organic substances. The students sorted through about 1,100 pounds of trash and divided it into 13 different categories. Of the trash sorted, 42 percent was food waste, and 28 percent was recyclable. Seventy percent of the university's waste could have been reused or recycled in some manner.

"Food waste across the country is the biggest thing people are working on," said Julia Muir, an employee of Peninsular Sanitary Services, who has witnessed similar efforts at Stanford University. "Theoretically, this program has been developed for things like mixed paper, bottles, cans, cardboard, but food waste is really one of the biggest categories."

Peninsular Sanitary Services also runs Stanford's trash and recycling program, and Muir said this project could present a great opportunity for educating Santa Clara students.

Sustainability Coordinator Lindsey Cromwell said she has several goals for Santa Clara, with respect to composting. "We want to start composting by fall this year, specifically our Benson food waste," she said. "Food scraps from the kitchen just get thrown away right now."

Bon Appetit has been keeping track of its food waste in the kitchens this year, said Melissa Reynen, marketing manager for Bon Appetit.

"Each of our stations has a pail, and we measure it, and we're keeping tabs on what we are producing so we can be aware of what we're doing," she said.

This data should help Bon Appetit determine what they'll need when the composting program starts.

Cromwell said there are plans in the works for a new, more sustainable dining hall. "The overall goal is climate neutrality," she said.

In order to be neutral, the university would need to reduce its carbon dioxide and methane gas emissions. Reynen said the "Zero Waste" dining hall is just in the beginning stages of design.

"It was definitely eye opening," said junior Courtney Blann, a staff member of the Green Club, about her experiences at Mission Trail. "It was unreal how much food we actually throw away."

The Green Club visited the University of San Francisco this past December and shared ideas about sustainability. While USF has a composting program in its dining facilities, it lacks an office for it. Santa Clara looks at schools like USF and Stanford for ideas about implementing a composting program in existing dining halls on campus this coming fall.

Another initiative the Green Club is undertaking will be "Zero Waste" meals, which they will serve to incoming freshman on preview days in April. These meals will serve as a pilot for next year's system.

Reynan said the data produced by the waste audit will be useful to Bon Appetit. In compiling data, Bon Appetit will now be able to determine what it will need from the university in order to implement "Zero Waste" plans next year.

Contact Tom Sullivan at (408) 554-4546 or tsullivan@scu.edu.