<u may have noticed there are more and more places around campus to compost your pizza boxes, paper towels, and food waste. These compost bins are part of the Carleton Community Waste Program (CCWP), a collaborative initiative between Custodial and the STAs which strives to reduce the number of plastic trash can liners, decrease contamination between the trash, composting, and recycling waste streams, and raise awareness about the amount of waste Carleton generates.
The CCWP was initiated as a pilot program in Facilities, Leighton, and Goodsell in winter term and has been very successful. For example, the number of plastic liners saved in a year by the pilot program would be enough to cover one-third of the Bald Spot! Additionally, 86% of surveyed building occupants felt that composting was a positive or very positive addition to their buildings and over 60% became more aware of the amount of waste they produce. Of those surveyed, 92% agreed or felt neutrally that the CCWP was positively impacting waste in their department.
After this positive feedback from building participants and Custodial, the Community Waste Program was expanded into the Chapel, Scoville, Willis, LDC, and Boliou at the beginning of this term and will shortly be added to the CMC. The Community Waste Program fulfills three actions prescribed by our Climate Action Plan, and we hope to continue expanding this program to all administrative and academic buildings on campus in the near future.