Baylor University Joins Compost Company to Help Divert Food Waste

Baylor University is partnering with a Texas-based compost company to help divert food waste from entering Waco’s crowded landfill.

Moonshot Compost is teaming up with Baylor University, taking action to stop food waste from the Waco landfill and instead will work to transform the waste into compost.

 “We’re able to really collect and redistribute compost in a way that really was new to us,” Smith Getterman, who is the Director of Sustainability and Special Projects at Baylor, said.

According to Moonshot Compost, 22% of the waste at landfills is food waste. The founders of Moonshot have set out to find a way to decrease the waste in landfills by starting the composting company.

“The tallest point in the city of Houston is the Atascocita Landfill,” Chris Wood, who is one of the founders of Moonshot, said. “Landfills are different than we think they are. They’re just big piles of trash. That trash gets covered up, and when food waste goes to a landfill and gets covered up, it produces methane. That’s another source of greenhouse gases that are damaging, so these are problems we’re solving.”

Bins are taken to Moonshot Compost subscribers, such as Baylor, to be filled up with food waste. Then, Moonshot Compost collects the bins and takes the waste to compost facilities where it is combined with other materials to create compost.

Read the full article here.