
Hands draped with hummus and soiled veggie-kebab napkins, Anna Dworetzky looked up from her squat position and smiled. Strange, you might say, especially given that she was wrist-deep in the trash and food scrap remains of another delicious lunch at The Commons. What caused the smile is the fact that concrete steps are being taken to start an official compost program at Branson, a program that will help to avoid harmful levels of methane emissions from landfills.
A few weeks ago, members of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC) met with representatives from Marin Sanitary to complete a waste audit. The audit acts as a baseline, detailing where we are as a community, while also highlighting clear steps we could take for more sustainable waste management. After the audit, the numbers told a clear story. The majority (88.6%) of the material collected was compostable, with food scraps accounting for most of the weight and volume. This confirmed what we already knew, and further emphasized the need to implement a composting program. Keen to get the ball rolling on this initiative, the EAC is even more excited to involve the rest of the community with this important step in reducing the environmental impact of our campus. Stay tuned for more announcements from the EAC on the future of the composting program. Huge thanks go out to Dave Schneider andMarcus Trigg for helping with the audit and supporting these efforts!