Composting at Fort Lewis College
In May 2007, the EC’s Earth Tub composter produced its first batch of compost from the food waste from the kitchen and main cafeteria.
Purchase of the composter was supported by ASFLC, Sodexho, Inc., and the President’s Office and is run with the cooperation of Sodexho’s staff.
The compost program is only for waste from the River Rock Café, but the EC hopes to work with the city to establish a municipal composting program in the near future. Read more about how the Earth Tub composter works.
How Do I Compost?
Composting in the River Rock Café is simple. Scrape any fruits, vegetables, cereal, rice, and pasta that’s left on your plate into the compost sorter on your way to the dish line. The unbleached napkins used in the River Rock are fine as well.
Good
Please DO NOT put meat, dairy products, bread, or eggs into the sorter. These are fatty foods and throw off the chemistry in the mix. Larger composting systems can deal with this type of material, but it gives the microbes in our Earth Tub indigestion.
Bad
Please DO NOT put plastic or paper cups (along with spoons, forks, plates, etc.) into the sorter. This material doesn’t break down and ends up contaminating our final product.
Ugly
If you have questions about composting, e-mail our zero-waste team at ec_waste@fortlewis.edu.
