Composting Initiative Back on Campus

Katelyn Grano '21 with a Campus Composting Bin. Source: Greta Stuckey '23

While most students toss their eggshells and vegetable scraps into the garbage can, there are a number of Marist students who dispose of food scraps in composting bins. A new method of composting on campus allows students the unique ability to individually compost their own food right inside their apartment. 

Lugging 10 small white bins into the O’Shea residence hall is Katelyn Grano ‘21, the Composting Program Student Coordinator. The white bins are specially created composting containers with handles, a lid and directions on how to use them. 

As a member of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee (CSAC), Grano helps implement environmentally conscious initiatives across campus. Grano took on the role of numbering the bins and distributing them to further sustainability across campus. 

“The program is primarily taking place in apartments on the North End of campus at this time,” Grano said. “We don’t have the composting bins distributed in freshman areas or communal living areas because it is harder to get people to take the composting out when the bin gets full.” 

After finding interested students to participate in the composting intiative, Grano gives them a bin and marks down the number of the bin they received. Students then take their leftover scraps from fruits, vegetables or egg shells and place them in the white composting bin versus in a trash can. Overseeing the composting initiative is Marist’s Associate Director of the physical plant Kim Bodendorf. 

“Our passionate composters on Marist College would love to see the program expand to all townhouses and administrative offices on campus,” Bodendorf said, “Our ultimate goal is to become a “Zero-Waste College.”

The product being used to compost is called an Oxo Good Grips Compost Bin which was created for easy storage on the counter or floor. The bin was also specially designed to keep odor out. Due to the lid technology and material of the bin, the compost will not release odor and is easy for students to clean. 

“Composting saves money because the college can water less, use less synthetic chemical fertilizers, and lower the demand for waste removal which is very expensive,” Bodendorf said.  “It reduces our carbon footprint because there is less waste emitting methane in landfills.”

The bin is also the perfect size for composting bags if students want an easy clean up, but they are not necessary since the bin can be placed in the dishwasher or hand washed after each use. 

“After students fill their composting bin, they dump it in the big composting bin located at the bottom of the Hoop Lop behind North End,” Grano said. “Once it is broken down, the soil is taken and put into the garden, in mulch and really anywhere else where it could be used around campus.” 

The large composting bin is sustained by aerobic composting. Aerobic composting is the creation of fertilizing compost that relies on bacteria that thrive in an oxygen-rich environment. The food scraps dropped off by students get air irrigation through the bottom of the bin which means that the Marist Grounds Crew doesn’t have to turn it by hand. 

“I am passionate about sustainability because the earth is an incredible power that encompasses extreme complex systems, environments and life,” Bodendorf said. “The more careful we are not to ruin or disrupt these relationships, the longer we will be able to sustain life as we know it.”

Since 2007, CSAC has been working to create sustainable practices on campus for both students and the overall community. While CSAC also works on other initiatives on campus, composting is one way that students can make an individual choice to be more sustainable. 

“I am extremely grateful to work with Marist students who are very passionate about composting,” Bodendorf said. “Their energetic approach to being outstanding stewards of our one precious earth is commendable.” 

While composting can’t solve every environmental issue on campus or beyond, it can limit the amount of waste Marist generates. With less emissions, Marist can contribute to the Hudson Valley community and lessen the impact of unsustainable practices on the earth.