Composting Sustainability Class

Senior Shawn Hughes and juniors Jon Spicher and Kate Nussbaum separate trash, napkins, and food scraps out of the compost from the cafeteria in sustainability class.

As Christians, our goal is shalom… living in peace in this world. But peace is more than just how we treat other humans. It includes our relationship with the whole of God’s creation.

The concepts of good stewardship, tilling (abad) and keeping (shamar), are found in Genesis 2:15, which details that wherever and however we use natural resources, we should do so in a way that cares for and protects God’s world.

At EMU we've asked ourselves how we can take proper care of the environment in every aspect of our natural resource use.

The development of a campus garden (a move toward a campus able to produce some of its own food), a student-led initiative that removed trays from the campus dining hall, and the construction of a new LEED®-certified residence hall are just the beginning. Sustainability work begs the question, how much trash do we make, and where does it go?

The EMU Recycling and Waste Reduction Program removes almost 147,000 pounds of recyclables from EMU trash each year, but the campus still produces nearly 228,000 pounds of waste that goes to landfills and incinerators and a large amount of food waste that goes into the sewer system.

The Fall 2008 inaugural sustainability class explored composting of biodegradable material as an effective way to reduce the amount of trash produced by the campus.

What are the basics of composting here on EMU's campus?

Who is doing the work and how can you help?