Start Composting at University of New Mexico!

Currently, the University of New Mexico does not have composting bins accessible to students or an on-site composting facility. Please show your support to compost our food waste!

Composting reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, water and pesticides while increasing crop yields.We can reduce our carbon emissions by not using fertilizers with chemicals in them. Though it plays only a small part in UNM’s overall carbon footprint, solid waste saw a 9% increase in a 3 year period in recent years, showing that it is in fact a growing problem. With an on-site compost facility and more awareness, we would be able to decrease the amount of compostable solid waste that ends up getting sent to landfills regularly.

UNM’s Climate Action Plan outlines the idea that "Food and plant waste should go to an on-site compost to enrich landscaping or continue to go to Soilutions" and that closed-loop systems are important. By creating our own fertilizer with natural waste, we are not only cutting fertilizer costs, but also increasing the water holding capacity of the soil, which can equate to a reduction in water usage and costs. By sending food and plant waste to the landfill, we are wasting the potential energy and nutrients that could be being put back into the soil to help grow other plants, including food-bearing plants on campus. This could additionally cut the cost and carbon footprint of storing and transporting food.