Did you know the most relevant historical figure known with connections to compost is the institution's first benefactor himself, George Washington? Most commonly known as the United States' first President, he was also the nation's first public figure to adamantly promote composting as a method to amend damaged soils.
Let's follow George's lead here at Washington College and redirect our food wastes and scraps in a more sustainable manner to a compost heap and eventually back to the College landscaping itself. Be a part of the process and feel free to compost the following Dining Hall solid waste items in the appropriate bin:
PLEASE DO NOT PUT MEATS, EGGS, OR DAIRY INTO THE COMPOST BIN.
Read the related Elm articles: 4/7/06 | 10/27/06
By definition, composting is the reduction of organic matter to a more stable humus-like compound through successive microbial communities. This definition in its broadest sense can be applied to the everyday processes of nature that occur in the first few inches of soil. These natural processes have been occurring since the first microbial communities established themselves on earth hundreds of millions of years ago and have become an essential part of the dynamic of the earth, or, put more romantically, "the circle of life."
Without the microbial breakdown of organic matter such as plant biomass, the bodies of higher and lower organisms, and other biological oriented compounds, essential chemical "building blocks" like carbon and nitrogen, along with other equally essential nutrients would not be recycled and the critical connection between life and death would be lost.

As it pertains to man, compost has a variety of applications. Depending on its application, its value will be found in either the composting process or the composting product. The most well known application for compost is as a soil amendment for gardeners, but it can also be used to prevent soil erosion, to help reestablish degraded natural environments, and to prevent plant disease as a rich organic product.
The process of compost has positive implications for the environment as well. By composting we can significantly reduce the amount of waste that goes into our landfills, a finite resource for trash deposition, and we can also clean up polluted and contaminated soils for reuse through a process called bioremediation. The United States government spends millions of dollars on composting as a bioremediation technology each year.
By employing the insatiable and indiscriminate appetite of microbes, scientists have discovered how to take contaminated soils (those containing oils, PCB's, pesticides, and explosives for example) and not only neutralize the toxins but make them into nutrient rich healthy soils for plant re-growth and proliferation.
At Washington College the food scraps redirected away from our Dining Hall will be composted for reapplication to the campus. By contributing to the composting process you will be contributing to reviving and sustaining the health of our campus.
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
For more on composting in general: The Rodale Book of Composting
For more on composting at Washington College: tholste2@washcoll.edu