May 25
Ohio University has concluded a waste audit in anticipation of instituting a full-scale composting project at the school, a first for a college or university in Ohio.
Students in a sustainable agricultural class, under the supervision of the university’s Office of Resource Conservation, conducted the audit May 21 at the Baker University Center food court. That day, students generated 355.5 pounds of waste. About 44 percent was in the bin labeled trash, 6 percent was in a bin for bottles, and 50 percent went into the compost bin.
About 73 percent of the compostable material collected, 178.5 pounds, had little or no contamination, said Sonia Marcus, Ohio University’s resource conservation coordinator. The Athens, Ohio, school is using a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to develop the composting program. The university believes it is planning to install the largest in-vessel composting system at any U.S. college.
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