Hunter Composts!

The Food Waste Composting Student Leader Project, otherwise known as Hunter Composts! is a 2 week food waste composting pilot project, led by 2023 TGIF grantee Mufi Islam. The effort grew out of the College’s single-use plastics reduction plan mandated by New York State with the intention of encouraging long-term composting and providing food waste diversion on campus. Collection bins have been placed in the cafeteria and will be utilized from March 20, 2023- March 31, 2023.

The aim of the pilot project is to determine the feasibility of collecting food waste for composting. The long term goal is to replace all disposable food service containers and utensils with compostable alternatives .

What is Composting?

Composting is the process of breaking down organic materials, such as food scraps and yard waste, into nutrient-rich soil-like material called compost. This process is a sustainable way to reduce waste, improve soil health, and create a valuable resource for gardening and farming.

In NYC, you can compost most food scraps, including fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells, and grains. However, meat, fish, dairy, and oily or greasy foods should not be composted as they can attract pests and rodents.

You can find a list of compostable materials in NYC on New York City Department of Sanitation, along with tips for composting at home and a list of drop-off locations for food scraps and yard waste.

OTHERS ORGANIZATIONS THAT COMPOST

NYC Compost Project: A city-wide compost education and outreach program that seeks to provide New Yorkers with the knowledge and ability to compost in New York City. This program partners with several locations around the city that offer composting workshops and classes at Brooklyn Botanical Garden, New York Botanical Garden, and Queens Botanical Garden.

Mufi is an upper junior at Hunter College. He is currently majoring inEnglish Language Arts and intends to become a teacher. Mufi is passionate about environmental issues and does what he can to help lessen the effects humans have had on the environment. In his free time, Mufi likes to play board games and video games with his friends and family. Mufi can be reached at hunter.composts@gmail.com.