The toil for clean soil: UNC has been composting since 1999

Carolina Dining Services’ composting program is part of UNC’s Climate Action Plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.

According to UNC Waste Reduction and Recycling’s website, UNC has collectively composted more than 11 million pounds of food waste and compostable materials.

Composting allows unwanted garbage to become nutrient-rich soil, minimizing harmful emissions from landfills. Scott Myers, director of food and vending services, said composting at UNC has a relatively long history.

“It’s kind of a long-standing effort. It’s a long war, not an individual battle,” he said. “We started composting back during the 1999 Special Olympics, and have been doing it ever since in different degrees.”

He said reduction in compost is not always a bad thing.

“Last year, we actually had seen some reduction in the amount we have been composting,” Myers said. “But it’s a good thing because overall waste has been down.”

Myers said reasons for composting have changed since the start of the compost bins.

“A partnership at the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling had started composting with Brooks Contracting in Goldston, North Carolina,” Myers said.

“They started off with a grant that made it inexpensive to compost, so it was a financial incentive to begin with.”

Myers said composting isn’t all about numbers.

“So we’re hoping to continue to reduce the amount of composting overall but continue the process, hoping to actually decrease the tonnage, but overall still reducing,” Myers said. “That’s what our goal is, through education and working with our staff to minimize the amount of waste that we can control.”

Brandon Thomas, spokesperson for auxiliary services, said composting has been in the spotlight as one of Carolina Dining Services’ environmental initiatives.

Thomas is confident in the progress Carolina Dining Services has made in promoting sustainability.

“We’re just going to build on our successes each year, since we started doing the Feeding the 5000 Campaign that raises awareness about the global issue of food waste, it’s something we’ve been successful in the past about, and we plan on keep building on that success,” he said.

Sophomore Tisha Martin said she doesn’t own a compost bin, but she understands the impact of composting on the environment.

“I compost when I see a bin for it, like in Lenoir, but I don’t have a compost bin of my own,” Martin said.

“Composting is important. It keeps compostable matter out of landfills and prevents them from releasing gases that contribute to climate change.”

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