Johnson and Wales University expands composting efforts with new partnership

Johnson and Wales University (JWU) in Providence, Rhode Island, is on a mission to reduce its food waste. Recently, the university teamed up with compost pickup service Bootstrap Compost to expand its composting efforts to various new locations across the university’s two Providence campuses. This initiative came to be through collaborative efforts between JWU Providence’s campus dining team and energy conservation office.

As a result of the new partnership, new waste receptacles have been installed in different dining locations on campus. The new containers were officially unveiled at the beginning of November. These containers are tri-barrel and separately collect landfill, recycling and compostable waste. The waste collected in the containers is collected and maintained by Bootstrap Waste.

“[Bootstrap] makes the whole process incredibly easy," said Matthew Fannon, director of resource management and sustainability at the university, who has worked with Bootstrap in the past. "They pick up the bins every Tuesday and Friday, replacing them with new, clean ones."

The university opted to team up with Bootstrap Compost, which was founded in 2011, due to their years of experience in managing food waste and due to their capabilities to compost fibers and other materials in addition to food waste. Since its launch, Bootstrap Compost has effectively diverted over 10,000,000 pounds of scraps from landfills and created over 5,000,000 pounds of compost, according to a statement. Through that work, the company has offset over 7,000,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

One of the goals behind this partnership is to give students a more active role in the university’s sustainability efforts, according to a statement. The team is currently still working on marketing efforts to spread awareness about the new waste program, but composting is not a new concept for diners at JWU Providence. The dining team already has a composting program through a partnership with a local pig farmer who collects food waste from the university’s two all-you-care-to-eat sites.

In addition to the new waste receptacles, the team is also replacing multiple small trash and recycling bins with larger containers, to boost efficiency and sustainability.

Employee response has been positive overall, in regard to the university’s new sustainability efforts.

“We’re excited to have found a way to divert not just food waste, but other single use products, from the landfill,” said Amanda Rotondi, executive director of auxiliary services at the university, in a statement.

And the university’s composting efforts don’t end there. Bootstrap is also assisting JWU’s energy conservation office with a volunteer composting program at Harborside Village, an apartment-style residence building on campus. As part of the program, residents can sign up to receive a tabletop compost bucket for their kitchens. Bootstrap then provides JWU with what they refer to as “Black Gold” compost, which the university uses in their gardens around campus.

JWU Providence is also committed to sustainable dining in other ways, such as through its efforts to reduce single-use products and its initiatives to combat food waste in other ways.

“This [partnership] helps compliment programs we already have underway, such as the reusable to-go boxes we introduced this summer, which limit the amount of food thrown away at our all-you-care-to-eat dining locations and provides an additional dining option for our students,” said Rotondi.