This fall UMass Amherst will be host to a compost pilot project outside the Franklin Dining Hall near the Central Residential Area. Although there are presently compost bins in the Bluewall Café and all the dining halls compost food, there has not been a resource for members of the campus community to use when they wish to compost outside of the aforementioned areas.

Sara Hopps, who serves as the Food Intern for the Campus Sustainability Initiative, is leading this compost pilot project with the help of many individuals including Ryan Harb of Auxiliary Services and Ken Toong of Dining Services. The project will launch with a single compost bin placed outside Franklin and then will undergo a preliminary trial period to see how it goes.

Ideally this project will raise awareness about composting in general so it is no longer infrequently practiced. The theory is that if people understand where their food is going and how to not waste food and the compost bins are readily at hand for use, people will get into a natural habit of not throwing away compostable items into the trash.