Recycling at Hamilton

Composting at Hamilton

Pre/Post-Consumer Segregation & Collection

Organic food scrap wastes generated in Hamilton dining facilities are segregated from landfillable solid waste by Bon Appetit personnel during food prep (pre-consumer) and following consumption (post-consumer) in white bins.


Interim Storage

Food scrap wastes in the white collection bins are then consolidated in a composting hopper located outside of Commons Dining Hall, to await handling by the Physical Plant.


Compost Management

  • On a daily basis, Physical Plant personnel transport organic food scrap wastes to Hamilton’s composting partner (the Crane farm just off of College Hill Road), where it is dumped off and mixed with wood chips and other materials already undergoing the composting process.
  • Eventually, compost is moved to piles and managed through a passive windrow system, to cure for approximately 60 days.  Following the curing process, compost is screened to remove any remaining impurities, and is ready for resale/reuse.


Results of Hamilton’s Composting Program

  • Before Hamilton began its composting program, the municipal solid waste stream it generated and managed exclusively through landfilling averaged 749 tons per year (from 2007 through 2010), excluding recycling.
  • In 2011, Hamilton geneated 689 tons of municipal solid waste (excluding recycling), of which 553 tons were landfilled, and 136 tons were composted through the program above.  In other words, Hamilton achieved an additional 19.7% landfill diversion reduction in comparison to what it traditionally managed through landfilling alone.