Composting at KU


With the threat of the global climate crisis, entities in higher education are taking steps to discover opportunities to become more sustainable. Sustainability is an umbrella term for many concepts which encourage environmental integrity, social responsibility and economic viability. The objective of this composting project was to evaluate and implement further composting possibilities at the University of Kansas in order to accomplish a three pronged goal of finding educational opportunities, cost savings and increasing campus sustainability.

Composting Overview

Composting is the simple natural process of food and other organic matter being broken down quickly to form a type of humus. Using a carbon bulking agent, like wood chips, sawdust or dead leaves a "cooking" process can begin when the nitrogen source like food scraps or green grass clippings are added. Some moisture from the food or water accelerates this cooking process. It also requires air because it is an aerobic process, without air, the compost will emit unpleasant odors as it breaks down in a slower anaerobic process. After the compost has "cooked," it then needs to be cured for 2-4 weeks where it stabilizes and becomes a rich soil amendment.

Compost Benefits

There are many reasons both environmentally and financially that composting is beneficial. The soils at the University of Kansas are clayey and stressed from the strain of rotating the annual flowers. Compost is one affordable and very effective way to improve the soils and keep KU beautiful. Additionally, waste stream reduction is not only an economically beneficial initiative, but also it expands into other environmentally friendly opportunities for campuses with sustainability as a broad goal.

General Benefits

Composting is important because it returns nutrients to the soil without exhausting soil. Some of the benefits of composting include:
  • increasing nutrient and micronutrient availability
  • suppressing plant diseases
  • breaking up clay soils
  • preventing crusting
  • increasing microbial population and soil aeration
  • making it easier to remove weeds
  • providing slow release of macro nutrients
  • easing cultivation, killing weed seeds during the process
  • works effectively as a mulch
  • reducing leaching, erosion and soil compaction
  • improving drought tolerance
  • containing high organic content
  • binding heavy metals in contaminated soils
  • degrading many pesticides
  • absorbing odors
  • degrading volatile organic compounds
  • diverting organics from landfills
  • reducing waste burden and methane production

Compost at KU

Currently, Design & Construction Management is working with the Center for Sustainability and other campus departments to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a food composting project using an invessel system called the Earth Tub.
Here is the report as of April.