Composting
Wesleyan composts food scraps from Usdan Dining Hall, Summerfields Dining Hall, Pi Cafe, several campus buildings, many campus residences, and several offices. Click the expandable links below to learn more about composting or download printable handouts for dorms/residences and offices.
- Where do I compost?
Public Locations
Note: all public composting locations will be closed until mid-fall 2022 due to non-compostable materials (primarily plastic cutlery) causing contamination.
There are several compost bins in public locations that accept ALL food waste and ALL containers/napkins provided by Bon Appetit (except for sushi containers, which are trash).
Outdoors
- Between Allbritton Center and PAC
- Outside Usdan main entrance
- Outside Pi Cafe on Exley Church St. Patio
Indoors
- Exley
- 1st floor lobby outside Pi Cafe
- 1st floor lobby near Lawn Ave. entrance
- Olin Library
- 1st floor
- 4th floor
- Science Library
- 1st floor
- Usdan
- 1st floor by printer
- 1st floor by Usdan Cafe
- Marketplace (dish return)
- Beckham Hall
- Summerfields (dish return)
- 291 Main St. (basement kitchen)
For questions about composting, email the Composting Interns.
Residential and Office Locations
These stations accept only food waste (NO meat or dairy) and ALL containers/napkins provided by Bon Appetit (except for sushi containers, which are trash). Cutlery is not compostable until post-COVID.
Outdoor Backyard Bins
There are 15 self-service black composting bins located on campus that are open to use by all students and employees.
- Hi/Lo-Rise Apartments (outside of Hi Rise Laundry Room)
- The Bayit (157 Church St., between the Bayit and WesWings)
- Allbritton (next to Espwesso patio)
- 200 Church St. (near the parking lot)
- The Butterfields (against the wall of Butterfields B)
- Brainerd Ave. and Home Ave. (53 Home backyard)
- Exley (loading dock along Pine St. opposite the dumpsters)
- Warren St. and Fountain Ave. (backyard)
- Vine St. and Knowles Ave. (side yard)
- WestCo (on the courtyard near WestCo/Foss 1)
- Hewitt (outside Lounge on the side of Hewitt facing Vine St.)
- Farm House (344 Washington St. backyard)
- Full/Writing House (202 Washington St. side yard)
- College of the Environment (284 High St. backyard)
- X House (facing Davison Health Center)
Indoor - Student Residences and Offices
- Dorms (during academic year only): 200 Church, Bennet, Butterfields A, B, and C, Clark, Writers' Block, Nics, and WestCo kitchens and/or lounges; ask your Eco Facilitator for location details
- Program houses and other student residences that have opted into the program
- Offices that have opted into the program
- What can I compost in the black bins, dorms, residences, and offices?
Check out page two of the printable recycling/compost handout to understand what's compostable where on campus.
Compostable
- fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked)
- tea bags
- coffee grounds and filters
- bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and other grains
- eggs and eggshells
- unbleached or brown paper towels and napkins
- Bon Appetit paper clamshell containers, plates, cups, bowls
- plants, including cut flowers and stems
Not compostable
- "compostable" plates, cups, and cutlery
- meat and fat
- dairy
- oils
- liquids
- recyclable materials (glass, metal, plastic)
- plastic-coated and/or bleached paper products (items from WesWings and Red & Black)
- plastic cups, cutlery, stirrers
- cleaning products/chemicals
- gloves (from food prep)
- trash
- What can I compost in public locations?
Note: all public composting locations will be closed in Spring 2021 due to non-compostable materials causing contamination
Check out page two of the printable recycling/compost handout to understand what's compostable where on campus.
Compostable
- compostable dinnerware (Usdan/Pi/Summerfields, WesWings/Red & Black plates) EXCEPT cutlery
- meat
- dairy
- fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked)
- tea bags
- coffee grounds and filters
- bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and other grains
- eggs and eggshells
- unbleached or brown paper towels and napkins
- plants, including cut flowers and stems
Not compostable
- oils
- liquids
- recyclable materials (glass, metal, plastic)
- plastic-coated and/or bleached paper products (items from WesWings and Red & Black)
- plastic cups, cutlery, stirrers
- cleaning products/chemicals
- gloves (from food prep)
- trash
- Where does the compost end up?
Currently, all food waste and compostable dinnerware is sent to an industrial composting facility, Quantum Biopower in Southington, CT.
We are investigating strategies to fix the campus Earth Tubs so that finished compost can again be used as a soil amendment at Long Lane Farm. Stay tuned!
- How do I get a compost bucket?
To request a bucket for an office or residence, fill out the bucket request form. Please be advised that the bucket supply changes with the season and new buckets are not always available immediately.
Compost participants receive a bucket and instructions for collection and are responsible for emptying the bucket into the nearest black composting bin. - What do the Compost Interns do?
The (amazing) Compost Interns are responsible for maintaining the residential composting program on campus and helping to reduce food waste across campus.
On a day-to-day level, that might look like:
- Tabling for a future food waste reduction event at lunch and eat with fellow interns
- Sending an email to Res Life to discuss ways to expand the composting program
- Handing out food waste collection buckets to High Rise as a team
- Posting on social media advertising the next composting event
- Helping an Eco Facilitator ensure their bucket is groundhog proof
- Getting a week’s worth of arm exercise shoveling and carrying filled compost buckets
- Answering a friend’s text asking where they should bring their compost
- Answering a random Facebook friend’s message about where they should bring their compost
- Answering a parent’s voicemail about where they should bring their compost (noticing a theme?)
- Driving an electric vehicle around campus and getting odd looks from students who aren’t sure what's going on
Being a compost intern is dirty and smelly at times, but it is a really rewarding experience to be able to work on changing individuals’ behaviors while at the same time making a difference in the university’s carbon footprint and waste production through physical labor. To contact the Compost Interns, email wesustainability@gmail.com.
- Spring Move Out
Before you leave campus, please do the following:
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Residence Hall residents: Eco Facilitators will remove the compost bucket from your building. If you have a compost jar that you will not want to keep, please notify your Eco Facilitator so that we can reuse them.
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Woodframe/Program House/Fauver/High Rise/Low Rise/apartment residents: Please bring your compost bucket to the nearest backyard black composting bin (do NOT empty) no later than May 21st. Visit the campus composting map if you’ve forgotten where to bring your compost. Please do not leave bins at your back door.
Email wesustainability@gmail.com if you have any questions.
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