Colleges are reducing food waste through composting. Rhode Island cities and towns should, too.

But even big appetites can create substantial food waste. According to the National Resource Defense Council, universities across the United States throw out about 22 million pounds of food waste annually. To cut down on our waste, Bryant University recently invested in a campus composter as part of our sustainability initiatives, which include promoting on-campus native biodiversity, and achieving net zero emissions by 2050, in alignment with Rhode Island state policy.

According to the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental advocacy organization based in New England, 19 percent of the trash sent to Rhode Island’s Central Landfill in Johnston is food waste. The landfill is expected to hit capacity by 2040. Municipal solid waste landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions from human activities in the United States. Diverting food waste from the landfill will extend its lifespan and help curtail global-warming methane emissions.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with heat trapping potential nearly 30 percent greater than that of CO2. This eye-popping number is even more concerning when considering the bulk of landfill food waste decays in plastic garbage bags. Food scraps buried under other waste, either in plastic bags or under soil, are no longer exposed to air. Methane is emitted from the decaying of organic waste over time under anaerobic conditions. This methane burps its way into the atmosphere, trapping heat as a nasty greenhouse gas. In fact, food waste in landfills contributes more methane to the atmosphere than any other landfill material.

Nevertheless, there is a lot we can do to prevent the release of methane into the air. College campuses are microcosms of larger cities or towns, with places like Brown University composting their food scraps successfully. In 2022, the city of Boston launched a citywide food waste curbside collection program, which it expanded last year, making it easier for residents to keep food scraps out of landfills, part of the city’s Zero Waste Plan. The scraps are turned into compost or recycled to create clean energy.

Locally, composting costs Rhode Islanders both time and money right now. There are curbside programs available, but these add upwards of $16 to a household’s monthly bills. It is less costly to transport food scraps directly to drop-off sites, but there remains a time cost, an added burden to working families or those without reliable transportation. Those who are super eco-conscious won’t want the additional emissions from driving to and from a composting site.

Cities and towns should also consider that composting might be more fiscally responsible than carting away all that extra garbage. For communities that pay for private garbage removal, less food heading to the landfill means less cost to take it away. Boston’s initiative aims to curb solid waste that goes to landfills and incinerators by 80 percent, through composting and recycling. If public works departments are already picking up yard waste, adding compost to the weekly rotation is a relatively easy (and cheap) lift.

Under our agreement with our composting partner EcoTone Renewables, Bryant will keep 10 percent of the nutrient-rich organic fertilizer made from our composted waste to use on campus. Producing our own fertilizer will eventually remove the supply chain, cutting down on our scope 3 carbon emissions and costs. Our goal is to eventually replace chemical fertilizers that deplete topsoil productivity and pollute groundwater and waterways with this sustainable option.

More importantly, composting on campus will reduce a lot of the food waste that enters the Central Landfill, helping to reduce overall methane emissions. In terms of our campus sustainability goals, composting will reduce our food waste, help with soil rejuvenation in areas that have been nutrient depleted by non-native plant species, help to sequester carbon, reduce our overall emissions, and build climate resilience.

That’s something we can all raise a Dunks to.

Robert Patalano Ph.D., is a lecturer in the department of of biological and biomedical sciences at Bryant University.