VIDEO: Closed-loop compost system paves the way for a sustainable future
Campus program creates a first-of-its-kind solution for diverting waste from landfills.
When Denver’s largest compost provider announced last year that it would no longer accept paper products and takeout containers, many compost operations throughout the Front Range came to a grinding halt, including the one ran by the Auraria Sustainability Campus Program.
The tri-institutional program, which works in collaboration with Metropolitan State University of Denver, Community College of Denver and the University of Colorado Denver, developed an innovative solution: Bring all composting in-house.
Officially unveiled Sept. 25, the new processing facility is the only closed-loop system at a higher-education institution in Colorado.
“That means we’re doing everything from helping our vendors procure BPI-certified compostable to-go (containers), as well as hauling the materials with our electric tricycles from the greater campus,” said Cassy Cadwallader, director of sustainability and MSU Denver Geography alumna.
The compost generated will eventually go to the campus grounds as a soil amendment and an alternative to synthetic fertilizers, Cadwallader said.
It’s part of a larger effort to reach a 35% waste-diversion rate.
“In 2022-23, the Auraria Campus had 2 million pounds of total waste,” said Amy Nash, senior student staff member for waste diversion and MSU Denver Environmental Science student. “We were able to divert half, 1 million pounds, from the landfill. And that was prior to our compost program being set up.”
The initiative is supported by a $123,000 Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity grant, as well as student fees.
“In 2020, the students voted for a compost referendum, which puts $3 per student per semester specifically toward projects and programs like this,” said Cadwallader. “So we are here putting those student fees to work.”
