This year, after a test run last spring in KHvR and SE, Calvin’s Sustainability Coordinators (SCs) helped expand composting into all dorms except RvD.
History of composting on campus
Composting on campus first began when Calvin’s dining halls started composting in 2012, according to previous Chimes reporting, although throughout Calvin’s history, composting in the dorms has remained inconsistent.
In 2016, several members of the KE apartments’ sustainability team worked to get composting added to the apartments. Students could request a bin for their apartment, which they would empty near the KE trash area, according to previous Chimes reporting. However, the attempt to get composting in the dorms remained largely unsuccessful. In 2015, individual SCs initiated composting on their floors. This would be emptied into the compost bin behind KHvR, run by 1st vR (the “Creation Care” floor), who had their own composting initiative as early as 2014, according to previous Chimes reporting. However, due to it being run by individual SCs, floor composting remained inconsistent, often ending when the individuals taking the lead left the dorm.
Composting across campus was officially halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to previous Chimes reporting. However, SCs have since been working to re-implement the practice in the dorms and streamline the program. Rebecca Evenhouse, a SC in KHvR who volunteers with the composting program, said that “sustainability coordinators were kind of the first to try to bring [dorm composting] back into existence.” She noted that last year, the SCs involved Calvin’s sustainability cohort in the process.
In spring 2025, the SCs introduced a composting test run, adding compost buckets and signage to SE and KHvR. Connor Ryan, a SC in KHvR helping direct the composting team, said that “it was definitely a good test run in that it got people in those dorms used to the idea of composting. … KHvR and SE still kind of are the highest producing dorms for compost.”
Following the successful test run, composting has been officially added to all of the underclassmen dorms this year. The emptying of the compost buckets is run by the SCs and a group of volunteers.
How the program runs
Ryan explained that the composting buckets were added to the majority of the underclassmen dorms at the beginning of the fall 2025 semester. However, due to not having enough bins, composting was not added to BV or NVW until around halfway through the semester. Despite this initial setback, Ryan said that composting is going well. “Even in [BV and NVW], we’ve had some pretty good composting numbers, which I was happy about.”
Maia Peterson, a SC in KHvR and one of the leaders of the composting team, explained that two to three volunteers are assigned to take the compost out each week in a particular dorm. From there, Peterson explained that the SCs have a spreadsheet to keep track of compost that has been taken out as well as any other comments from the week’s composting.
Peterson said that the standardization process has included purchasing a lot more composting buckets, creating informational posters and recruiting more volunteers. “After that, it’s been pretty much just running without us having to do very much, which is great,” she said.
Peterson explained that after they pick up the buckets, they empty the bins behind the dining hall. “The dining hall works with a company called Organicycle to compost the leftover food from the dorms. … And so we can put our compost in with all the dining hall compost, and then Organicycle comes by and picks it up.”
Last year, as part of a sustainability action workshop, Ryan collaborated on a project to educate people on composting and study which educational methods were the most effective. The team sent out a Google form to different dorms to ask them about their composting habits and how much they knew about composting. Along with that, they held a discussion with the CEO of Organicycle in Commons Square and tracked which dorms had the largest number of residents in attendance. They then tracked which of the dorms had the most composting before and after the education initiatives. Ryan explained that Peet’s gift cards were used to incentivize completing the form, doubling the amount of compost produced in the dorms. Ryan sent out the form again at the beginning of this school year. “It’s been cool to be able to reuse that as something we know works,” he said.
Goals for the future
When asked about goals for the future, Peterson expressed the desire for Facilities to potentially take on composting at some point in the future. “But honestly, at this point, we are okay with it staying how it is,” she said, “because it’s just a pretty unstandardized thing that would be hard to move beyond SCs.”
Ryan echoed this, saying that Facilities taking over the program “would be the eventual goal,” but that it would likely take some time given their current focus on adding other sustainability initiatives to campus. “I think they have a lot on their plate right now with getting recycling into the academic buildings, and then the next priority would probably be recycling in the dorms. And then compost is kind of the next afterthought, because it’s pretty easy to handle with volunteers, to be honest. It’s just a once-a-week thing.”
Peterson listed expanding composting into RvD, creating a more structured composting system in KE and increasing the number of compost bins in common rooms across campus as potential goals for the program. Peterson noted that the Geo Department common room has a compost bin. “They produce a lot of coffee grounds and stuff, so that would probably be the biggest goal, as long as we have enough SCs to support that.”
Annalise Borger, one of the volunteers who takes out the composting in BB, echoed this, expressing a hope for composting to expand more across campus. “This probably comes in the future,” she said, “but it’s an interesting thing to bring to the academic buildings as well.”
Evenhouse listed more education and awareness about composting as a goal. “It would be nice to get some more awareness about it, because I do think there are still a lot of floors where we come by every week, and it’s just paper towel in [the compost bucket], or, she added, sometimes “there’s paper towel in there, but most of it’s in the trash bins still. So ideally getting people to use the compost more regularly as opposed to the trash would be the goal,” she said.
Preventing temporariness
Peterson said that the most significant factor in ensuring that composting consistently stays in the dorms is recruiting new SCs. Borger echoed this, saying that “if we can get [freshmen] ingrained into the system now … hopefully they’ll continue it.”
Peterson noted that to make passing the system off to new SCs easier, they have been working to put together documents detailing the process. She noted keeping careful track of bucket locations, weekly emptying duties and who to contact for extra bags. “We’re hoping just to have that go faster if we can be organized about writing down what we did this year.”
Evenhouse says that “making composting the norm” will also help the program stay alive. Ryan added that if students expect the compost to be there, it will increase their ability to keep getting volunteers to run the program. He expressed the hope that current volunteers will become SCs and, in turn, recruit more volunteers. “Then that can get a nice, fulfilling cycle going,” he said, which would ensure the program stays alive.
Why compost?
Borger stressed that it’s important for students to participate in composting because “we have a responsibility to care for Earth, and this is one way that college students can easily do that. … All you got to do is take your scraps and bring it to your kitchen.” Borger also expressed hope that dorm composting will help “to educate people so that when you do leave campus, you can do it on your own if you want.”
Peterson explained that composting helps reduce the amount of food waste in landfills. “When foods that could be composted go into landfills, they decompose in ways that produce a lot of methane, and they are not sustainable,” she said.
Evenhouse echoed this, adding that “there’s just so much waste that we’re putting into our landfills that just doesn’t need to be there. It could instead go to the compost and find new life and make dirt, and be part of the natural cycle” of waste. Ryan added that this then “supports local farmers when they’re trying to grow produce.”
Students who would like to volunteer in the composting program should contact Peterson or Ryan.
