For those who don’t know, composting is amazing. It allows for unwanted garbage to be made into nutrient-rich soil. This keeps waste from going straight to land-fills which can inflict environmental harm, especially through emissions.
Composting is something we hear about and see often. UNC boasts several compost disposal areas in our dining halls, dorms and throughout campus. The towns of Chapel Hill and Carrboro have also committed to more environmental policies that include robust composting programs.
UNC has a reputation for excelling in this area, but students and faculty should continue to live up to this reputation by taking advantage of the resources our community provides.
According to a Daily Tar Heel article from 2016, UNC has been composting since 1999. In the last 20 years, the amount of composting has increased and strides in waste reduction have also excelled. This is all part of UNC’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2050. UNC has taken action on this plan in various ways. For example, UNC has Green Events, where approved organizations can obtain composting bins for their events. Major dining areas (like Lenoir and Chase Dining Halls) have composting space and some residence halls are experimenting with small composting bins for individual rooms. On top of that, most residence halls have composting bins available to students wherever they dispose of their waste.
These are important steps our University is taking. Acknowledging and taking action on this environmental issue is something we should be proud of and take a greater part in. This is a simple and effective way to be involved with an environmental movement.
For those who already take part in composting or zero-waste programs, they might notice some issues with how it is done on campus. It can be fairly difficult to compost if someone lives off-campus and does not have access to compost bins at their home. Sometimes, the closest place to compost is in dining halls. However, The Carolina Campus Community Garden allows some fruit and vegetable scraps to be composted if brought to their local garden. Additionally, the extra effort to find a place to compost should be worth the benefit composting has to the environment.
Right now, the University is working to make composting more accessible to students. This commitment to composting is dependent on student and faculty involvement. We should all take advantage of the resources our University provides. As it is said, good is the enemy of great. We are doing well, but we should be striving to do better.
