The current state of composting at CU Boulder
For the past two years CU staff and our regional partners have worked to ensure the continued operation of composting on campus. In 2023, our regional composter switched to only accepting food and yard waste, and no compostable materials like napkins or compostable packaging. Since these changes CU has continued to be able to compost 80% of the material that used to be composted on campus. While public facing compost bins had to be removed, staff on campus are working to expand compost access on campus.
One such effort is being led by CU Facilities Management. They are spearheading a pilot program to place small food scrap buckets in kitchenettes and discreet areas around campus. For example, in the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community (SEEC) building, there are buckets in several of the kitchens used by students and staff.
“I started this pilot a year and a half ago, as a demonstration,” says Barry Sparks, Outreach Manager for CU Facilites Management. “We wanted to see how it would work, if it was possible, how much labor it would take. Now we know that it’s possible, we just need to take it to scale.” Each week, Sparks empties the small buckets into a larger compost receptacle, which he then takes to the on-campus Grounds and Recycling Operations Center (GROC), where it’s combined with other food waste for composting. The buckets are currently in 8 locations across campus, with the hope of eventually placing them in every academic and administrative building across campus.
Another effort to divert edible food waste from disposal on campus is being led by CU Dining Services. This involves collecting food scraps produced during food prep and transporting it to a local regenerative farm, Golden Hoof. These scraps feed livestock, like chickens and pigs. This not only diverts food waste from the landfill, but it also reduces the need to grow and produce food for the animals, resulting in a win-win for the environment. Misty Bergstrom, Banquet Captain for CU Catering, leads the collection of food waste from her team.
“In catering and dining halls, there is so much food waste,” says Bergstrom. “If we can divert just a little bit of that and help support a local farm, we feel good about that. All the chefs are very excited about being able to do this.”
The Golden Hoof scrap program is currently taking place at the UMC and C4C, with hopes to expand it to Will Vill in the future. Dining Services also composts hundreds of tons of food waste per year from food prep in kitchens as well as from food scraps left over by students when plates are washed in the dish rooms.
Another program to increase composting is handled by the Environmental Center’s Zero Waste Team. During large events like football games, basketball games and concerts, a team of students sort all waste following the event. Students set up tables, wear gloves and hand sort through hundreds of bags of compost and recycling. Dumpsters dedicated to landfill, recycling and compostable items capture the separated materials, which are hauled to each respective facility for processing. During the 2024 football season, the Environmental Center partnered with CU Athletics, Levy Restaurants, Facilities Management, and A1 Organics to pilot a high-quality compost load containing hand-sorted food waste and CMA certified compostable service wares. This process ensures that only the pre-approved materials were purchased for food service and produced a very desirable mixture to be processed at the local compost facility. CMA certified compostable products are tested and verified to break down properly in industrial composting facilities. Thanks to the dedication of this team effort, 17,572 pounds of organic materials were successfully composted this season. Ultimately, with lessons learned from 2023, we need to keep in mind the goal is to transition away from single use systems.
The Zero Waste team is looking at the changes in accepted compost as an exciting opportunity to rethink the way our food disposal and purchasing systems work. CU’s newly adopted Climate Action Plan calls for reducing waste, phasing out single-use plastics, and switching to more reusables for some operations. Instead of continuing to have single-use, compostable products like to-go boxes and cups, CU could implement a reusable system. This might change to all reusables for dining, whether you are eating in-house or taking it to-go. The to-go item would be checked out during food purchase and then returned by the user to be washed, sanitized, and used again. This could help cut down on the “take, make, waste” system of single-use items and create a more sustainable model for our campus.
Students can help bolster these efforts by advocating for programs, getting involved with the Environmental Center or sharing ideas with student government. CU has been a national leader when it comes to sustainability initiatives on campus, and with our new Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of Sustainability, the future looks bright for CU to continue carving a path for innovation. If you have ideas on how to solve the single-use issue, sign up for the 32nd Annual Campus Sustainability Summit April 22-23rd.