Dining hall waste fertilizes local orchards

IU recently launched a pilot program allowing local farmers to nourish soil using campus dining facility food waste.

The IU Office of Sustainability has paired with the Local Growers Guild to collect biodegradable foods from the Edmondson Dining Hall at Collins LLC, said Nikki Wooten, the composting initiative intern at IUOS. 

“It can help any garden or farm just by improving the soil,” Wooten said. “It brings nutrients back to the soil and helps soil retain water, so it’s a really important part of organic farming.” 

The team was able to launch the partnership program two weeks ago with a temporary research permit from the Department of Environmental Management.

IU has composted food waste from the Indiana Memorial Union and Union Street Market for several years now, Wooten said, but the partnership with local growers is the first of its kind in Indiana.

The LGG is a local cooperative of farmers and community members including Smith Pike Farm, Sunny Branch Farm and the Bloomington Community Orchard.

The compost bins, which are tightly sealed bins that allow food to naturally decay at a much faster rate,  will be located at the Bloomington Community Orchard.

The orchard is an organization located in Winslow Woods Park devoted to growing fruit for the community and developing orchard-tending skills through educational
opportunities.

LGG partners pick up food waste on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The orchard will take food waste and kitchen scraps collected by the Collins LLC and stored in compost bins to act as fertilizer for the orchard’s soil. 

Bloomington Community Orchard’s Chairman of Operation Committee Stephen Hale said he thinks every contributor to the project will benefit. 

“At Bloomington Community Orchard, we think composting is the best organic way to improve soil,” Hale said. “It benefits IU. It benefits the orchard. It benefits the community.”

Hale said the pre-consumer food will collect in two five-gallon buckets picked up every Thursday. Hale said the compost bins will prepare every week through the fall and spring semester, so the program can function in April or May 2014.

“We call it the pilot program because many people in this community have been trying to do this for a long time,” Hale said.

Hale said many organizations have put in a lot of hard work and effort into the composting project.

Hilltop Garden and Nature Center is one business that has composted food waste from University buildings. 

The composting sites at the local farms will be similar to those at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, where fresh produce is currently being grown for IU dining halls, according to a press release.

“We’re really thankful that they are allowing us to do this because it is pretty innovative, and it’s not done at many places,” Wooten said.

The project’s goal is to reduce the amount of waste going to the landfill and create better soil for the growth of produce, Wooten said.

Students and community members are encouraged to get involved in the project as well, Hale said. They can help transfer compost from dining facilities or work in the
orchard.

“We really think it’ll be a learning process for us, with IU, people in the Local Growers Guild, and maybe just showing people that this can be done responsibly and without problems,” Hale said. “That’s really our hope, that we finish up the semester with a good result.”