COMPOSTING
Did you know?
 If just 5% of Americans' food scraps were recovered, it would represent one day's
worth of food for 4 million people - USDA
 According to the EPA, it costs the U.S. around $1 billion every year just to dispose
of all its food waste – CNN.com
 According to a recent study by the EPA, Americans generate roughly 30 million
tons of food waste each year, about 12% of the total waste stream. All but about
2% of that food waste ends up in landfills – The New York Times
 Keeping organic materials out of Massachusetts' already crowded landfills not
only saves landfill space but also cuts the generation of methane-a powerful
greenhouse gas created from organic materials' anaerobic decomposition.
 During the academic year, the Medford campus now composts a little over one
ton of food waste each day - Tufts Dining Services
 Dining Services has reduced its yearly solid food and non-food waste sent to the
dumpsite by 62 percent! – Tufts Dining Services
Compost drop off sites on Campus
Up Hill Bin: Rear of Miller Hall next to the Tufts Institute of the
Environment (TIE). The locked bin can be accessed during business
hours by picking up the key which hangs on a hook in TIE
entranceway. Please return key and lock the bin.
Down Hill Bin: Tisch Library rear loading dock. This bin can be
accessed any time of day because the key is kept in a box on the
wall. Please return key and lock bin.
No animal products or bio-plastics please. These bins are emptied into our yard
waste dumpster which has more restrictions than commercial composting
facilities.
Where does it all go?
Food waste from Tufts is picked up from two haulers. Save That
Stuff collects from Carmichael Dining Hall and takes the material to
Rocky Hill Farm in Saugus MA. Thompson (Herb's) Disposal picks up
material from Dewick Mac-Phie and takes it to DEP-permitted
compost facilities in Massachusetts and it can travel all the way to
Maine. Our food waste is combined with leaves and other organic
materials to generate nutrient-rich compost for farmers and landscapers.