Clairborne Beurle '23
Composting 1 ton of food and waste can reduce emissions as much as a car not driving for two months. When people toss food in landfills, the layers of trash around it creates an anaerobic environment - an environment without oxygen; and as a result, the food waste produces methane gas. Methane is about 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide and is among the most harmful greenhouse gases. Composting prevents methane gas from forming. Not only does composting help climate change and reduce landfill mass, but it's also extremely valuable for gardening. Compost helps loosen heavy soil, and it holds water, reducing irrigation frequency. Composting is an essential step to take amid climate change because it helps both the atmosphere and water consumption.
Cate's new composter arrived on campus this fall and should be running as soon as the permitting is approved. The composter, an A900 Rocket, will process up to 215 liters of food waste each day; it can process meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, and garden waste. Most composters can’t compost meat and dairy, but ours can because it heats up to 155º F to kill any pathogens that may exist - an essential step for reusing the compost. The A900 works in cycles; at the start of each cycle, food waste is mixed with a material like wood chips to create a base. As the process starts, the Rocket combines the food and the wood chips and heats up to foster microorganisms and ensure they're abundant. The organisms are what break down the compost into mulch-like material. Each cycle lasts 14 days, but we can add more compost throughout the process, so we'll be able to compost all the time. The eventual outcome results in a will be a nutrient-rich mulch that can be reused around campus for gardening and planting. While Cate still has a ways to go to be sustainable, this is a stride in the right direction.
As the community begins transitioning into composting, food items will be discarded separately from single-use plastic so they can be taken down to compost. With the volume of students composting, our carbon footprint will surely decrease significantly. The A900 Rocket is an essential stride in Cate's effort toward sustainability.
Will Holmes, the Director of Community Engagement and faculty advisor for the Cate Environmental Club, explained a little more about the composting system and how it came to Cate. First of all, he recognized the students that have spent time focusing on composting, the ones who would wheel wheelbarrows full of food from the dining hall to behind the tennis courts, and the ones who've relentlessly expressed enthusiasm. He mentioned, "Through 10, 12 years there've been some student movements to compost… And that's appreciated, and I think helped lead to [the composter] because student-initiated movements at schools make a difference and when we as adults were speaking with the administration last year… the fact that there was a backstory of student movements to do it made a difference and I think that's important to recognize." The administration finalized the composter to be brought to campus last year after a panel of three faculty members and two trustees pitched the idea to the administration. Mr. Holmes said the compost is "important because of what it will allow us to do and it's also educational for students. I'm assuming some of the science courses will get involved, there'll be volunteer opportunities, perhaps green team, environmental club, so it's not going to just be the fact that we're doing the right thing with all of this material, but it will also be educational and informative." The compost system will provide an educational component in addition to its environmental aspect. In fact, this new practice might inspire students in the future because “more students will be aware and perhaps more people will go on in their life to compost.” Cate has already put some sustainable practices into effect, some of the methods are "the LEED-certified buildings, the swimming pool… [and] installing solar panels on the gym”. Though Cate still has room to grow, "Cate at the administrative and board level are very willing to commit to these big projects," which is promising for the upcoming years. As global focus shifts to environmentalism and sustainability, Cate is making great strides to become as sustainable as possible.
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