FAQ: Composting

Q. Is organic waste from campus composted?

A. Yes and no. One hundred percent of campus yard waste, including lawn clippings and fallen tree limbs, is repurposed as mulch or organic soil amendments.

In the fall of 2011, Wake Forest Dining Services performed a waste audit to see just how much waste is generated on a standard day in the Fresh Food Company. The results of this audit informed an ongoing pre-consumer waste composting pilot in the Reynolda Fresh Food Company. The pilot was successful and helped ARAMARK management and employees minimize waste in food prep and see how it can be composted successfully. As of February 2012, all pre-consumer food waste from the Fresh Food Company is being picked up and taken to Gallins Family Farm for composting. In North Dining Hall, all pre-consumer and post-consumer waste is collected and taken to Gallins Family Farm for composting. Each program keeps hundreds of pounds of food waste out of the landfill every week.

Food waste from the theme houses on Polo Road and from the Campus Kitchen Fresh Market runs is composted at the campus garden (behind 1141 Polo Road).

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the composting program grows and evolves.