[UA Sustainability] Important Changes to Composting at MIT

[Yanisa Techagumthorn]

*[image: Inline image 1]*

*tl;dr - Change in waste guidelines: put only food waste in compost bins at
MIT, no utensils, plates, cups, napkins, etc (even if labeled
"compostable"). Please use reusable foodware instead!*

Dear Undergraduates,

I hope your summers have been going well! As we are nearing the start of
school, there are some updates I would like to share on behalf of UA
Sustainability. We have recently found out from Casella, the waste company
that services all of MIT, that the farms who receive food waste from our
campus can no longer accept bioplastics and compostable paper. Therefore,
Casella has asked us to stop throwing said items away in the compost bins
and* only put in food waste*. Compostable foodware is usually meant to
break down in an industrial composting facility. However, Casella sends our
food waste and compostables to a farm, where compostables take much longer
to break down. There are currently no industrial composting facilities in
the area New England.

In light of this new policy, we would like to encourage everyone to try to*
reuse foodware *as much as possible. It's easy to keep a set of utensils in
your backpack, as well as a water bottle or portable mug. Additionally,
relatively clean plastic or paper containers and cups (including the
"compostable" ones) are usually recyclable, though all utensils should go
in the trash.

Lastly, we would really appreciate your help in spreading this information
to incoming prefrosh. Unfortunately, waste policies are not standardized
around the country and the world, so they may not be familiar with MIT's
policies.

Thank you for doing your part to help make campus more sustainable. In one
year, MIT has managed to *decrease our trash by 174 tons*, by collecting
food waste, recycling, and reusing! Please feel free to email
ua-sustainability-chairs at mit.edu with any questions or comments.

Best Regards,
Yanisa Techagumthorn
UA Sustainability Committee Chair
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