CAMPUS COMPOSTING
2016 – Present
Campus Composting works to reduce organic waste produced by the University community through public education about waste sorting and the implementation of composting infrastructure on and off-campus.
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Off-Campus Composting
Program
PSI received funding from the College and Student Life’s Green Fund to provide 50% subsidies on composting services for off-campus University students in Hyde Park.
We partner with Urban Canopy, a Chicago-area composting hauler that also works to improve food sustainability.
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Check our feature in the Chicago Maroon to learn more.
105 students
currently enrolled
35% improvement
in responders feeling "very aware" of their household's waste production
95% "great experience"
rating from responders rating an 8 or above on a 1-10 scale
Our Partner:
A South Side, urban farm specializing in compost hauling, indoor/outdoor farming, and farmer's markets.
Event Composting
Campus Composting continues to work with RSOs such as Sensasia, BITE, and SASA, as well as University partners such as Alumni Weekend and O-Week to bring composting to campus events. In Spring 2024, 1600+ total event guests interacted with zero waste sorting and reduced their carbon footprint, and the event organizers we worked with learned more about sourcing compostable materials and composting pickups.
Campus Composting members and other PSI volunteers composting at the SASA Culture Show.
Student-Run Cafe Composting
Our most recent project was bringing composting to student-run campus cafes. This pre-consumer composting program, funded by a Green Fund Grant, started in 2023. We implemented the composting program which is now administered by the head of student-run campus cafés, Parker McWatters, in collaboration with The Urban Canopy. This PSI-external management is a step toward our goal of implementing institutionalized composting at the University of Chicago. Ex Libris has since collected over 15,000+ pounds of coffee grounds to compost. Due to this success, we also started cafe composting in Harper Cafe in Spring 2024.​
On-Campus Composting
This past year ('23-'24), we partnered with UChicago Dining to bring interactive activities centered around composting to two of their events: Stop Food Waste Day and Berry Palooza. Over 100 students and staff members interacted with our volunteers and learned about zero waste strategies. We also presented on our initiatives to members of the Harris Energy and Environment Association, who appreciated our strategies for requesting funding and working with University staff. We hope to continue this partnership and work together towards institutionalized composting at UChicago.
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In Fall 2022, we partnered with two UChicago departments to provide composting buckets: the Spiritual Life Office and the Geophysical Sciences Department.
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'23-'24 Campus Composting Project Group Leader Jess Senger and Board Advisor Elena Tiedens composting in Baker Dining Commons with Urban Canopy.
University Composting Webinar
In Spring 2024, we hosted our first-ever University Composting Webinar featuring student and staff representatives from Loyola University Chicago, Cornell University, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. All of these schools have robust and institutionalized composting programs, and the representatives explained the history and future goals of the initiatives. Around 25 students, staff, and parents attended the webinar either virtually or in person, and the webinar link was distributed to some UChicago staff.
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Watch the webinar recording here.
“An enormous portion of the waste that you create individually is food waste…both on and off-campus composting programs could divert so much of UChicago’s total waste output.”
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- Former Project Group Leader Andre Dang (in The Chicago Maroon)
