Crescent St. Gets Compost

Katie Cerulle  ’22

Features Editor

On one warm Tuesday night at the end of September, my Crescent house got a knock at the door. Curious to know who could be stopping over for a visit at 8:30 P.M., my four roommates and I watched intently as my other roommate walked over to open the door. 

“Hello!” said the friendly face at the door, “We are from Green Campus starting our opt-in compost initiative this semester. Would you like to participate?” 
Being the environmental gurus that we in our house are, of course we said yes. With that, the two lovely Green Campus representatives left us with a green compost bin and a sheet of directions. This helpful cardstock sheet resides happily on our refrigerator and provides a helpful list of what to put in our compost bucket. Acceptable items include: meat and bones, shellfish and fish products, food soiled papers (i.e. napkins, paper towels), parchment paper, household plants and herbs, and so many more food waste products. Not acceptable items include: metal of any kind, plastic of any kind, Styrofoam, twist ties and rubber bands, and other items that cannot decompose on their own. The goal of composting, according to my prior knowledge, is to collect food items out of landfills where they take up a large amount of space and produce harmful amounts of greenhouse gasses. By separating them and putting the items into their own compost bucket, we are able to create fertilizer that revitalizes soil and reduces one’s individual carbon footprint. 

The card also mentions that pickup for our house is on Tuesdays, so the bucket has to be put on the front porch at 8:30 A.M., and by 6 P.M. or earlier, the contents is disposed of and the empty bucket is put back onto the porch. Easy! 

These new green compost buckets can be seen on numerous Crescent Street doorsteps, blending in beautifully with the fall pumpkins. In order to learn more about these buckets and their presence on campus, The Tripod spoke with Amelia Huba, e-board member of Green Campus.  

Huba explained that Green Campus, the student collective dedicated to climate preservation, is in charge of Crescent Composting and has been since its beginning in 2019. “Crescent Street Composting began in 2019 through a group of students in an environmental science class who collaborated with Green Campus to bring composting to the townhouses.” She also mentioned that the Townhouses use the same composting company as Mather Dining Hall, and the cardstock card on my refrigerator says the company is called Blue Earth Composting located here in Hartford.  

According to Huba, what is different this year than in years past is that the composting initiative is totally voluntary, meaning Townhouses can opt-in or out as they please.  

“This semester is different because it is the first which is opt-in at any time! So people can join any week in the semester, it’s not just a one-time signup.” 

At this moment, the program has 20 houses involved and are hoping to get more participation in the upcoming weeks.  

Finally, Green Campus is looking forward to their largest sustainability event of the school year coming this spring; Greenfest. 

“Green Campus is looking forward to having our GreenFest in the spring, a huge sustainability festival in the spring which we haven’t had since 2019!” 

If your Crescent house is interested in composting, email trinitycollege.greencampus@gmail.com.