Items such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains, bread, and eggshells can be
composted. If it can be eaten or grown in a field or garden, it can be
composted.
Post-consumer food waste is more challenging because of separation
issues. Often, after the
consumer is done with the food, the waste is subject to contaminants and
a decision has to be made on how to separate food from other waste.
This is done by having an extra trash can that is only used for food
waste.
The UWSP Grounds Work Unit uses compost "pulp" collected at the
Dining Services facilities for use as bedding on the many berms on campus. This is food waste that might normally go down the drain as part of the dish washing process but is instead collected and recycled. This compost pulp has a variety of uses and is known to improve soil quality and productivity as well as prevent and control erosion.
To highlight how much compost is typically recycled at UWSP, during a period from July of 2014 to July of 2015, 125,870 pounds (62.9 US ton) of compost were collected from DeBot, Dreyfus University Center, TNR and CPS for reuse.