Jen Kleindienst, Sustainability Director

284 High Street, Room 104
Middletown, CT 06457
jkleindienst@wesleyan.edu
860-685-3242

Composting Locations & Guidelines 

Wesleyan composts food scraps from Usdan, Summerfields, Bon Appetit cafes, several campus buildings, many campus residences, and several offices.  Click the expandable links below to learn more about composting or download printable handouts for dorms/residences and offices.  

To learn more about how composting works on campus, please visit our waste management page.

  • Where do I compost?

    Public Locations

    There are several compost bins in public locations that accept ALL food waste and ALL containers/napkins provided by Bon Appetit (except for sushi containers, which are trash).

    Outdoors

    • Usdan main entrance
    • Pi Cafe on Exley Church St. Patio

    Indoors

    • Allbritton Room 311
    • Boger 1st floor hallway
    • Downey House Lounge
    • Exley
      • 1st floor lobby outside Pi Cafe
      • 1st floor lobby near Lawn Ave. entrance
      • 1st floor Science Library by bathrooms
      • 1st floor Woodhead Lounge
    • Olin Library 1st floor
    • Resource Center lounge
    • Summerfields dish return
    • Usdan
      • 1st floor by printer
      • 1st floor by Usdan Cafe
      • 1st floor Room 108
      • 1st floor Room 110
      • 2nd floor Marketplace (dish return)
      • 3rd floor DFC
    • Zelnick Pavilion
    For questions about composting, email the Composting Interns.

    Residential Locations

    These stations accept only food waste (NO meat or dairy) and ALL containers/napkins provided by Bon Appetit (except for sushi containers, which are trash). 

    Outdoor Backyard Bins

    There are 14 self-service black composting bins located on campus that are open to use by all students and employees.  

    1. Hi/Lo-Rise Apartments (lower courtyard between Hi and Lo Rise facing Traverse Square)
    2. The Bayit (157 Church St. at back door)
    3. Allbritton (next to Espwesso patio)
    4. 200 Church St. (near the parking lot between 200 Church and ADP)
    5. The Butterfields (by Summerfields patio)
    6. Brainerd Ave. and Home Ave. (53 Home backyard)
    7. Exley (Blue Earth carts at loading dock along Pine St. against the wall next to dumpsters)
    8. Warren St. and Fountain Ave. (35 Fountain backyard)
    9. Vine St. and Knowles Ave. (behind 19 Vine)
    10. WestCo (in the courtyard near WestCo/Foss 1 by Weshop entrance)
    11. Hewitt (outside Lounge on the side of Hewitt facing the circle)
    12. 344 Washington St. (backyard)
    13. Full/Writing House (202 Washington St. side yard)
    14. College of the Environment (284 High St. backyard) 

    Indoor - Student Residences

    • Dorms (during academic year only): 200 Church, Bennet, Butterfields A, B, and C, Clark, Writers' Block, Nics, X House, and WestCo kitchens and/or lounges; ask your Environmental Fellow for location details
    • Many program houses (ask your HM if you don't have composting at your program house and would like to!)
  • What can I compost?

    Note: all public composting locations are closed temporarily due to non-compostable materials causing contamination

    Check out page two of the printable recycling/compost handout to understand what's compostable where on campus.

    Compostable

    • fruits and vegetables (raw or cooked)
    • tea bags
    • coffee grounds and filters
    • bread, cereal, rice, pasta, and other grains
    • eggs and eggshells
    • unbleached or brown paper towels and napkins
    • Bon Appetit plates, cups, bowls, lids
    • WesWings and Red & Black plates
    • plants, including cut flowers and stems

    Compostable ONLY in public locations (NOT backyard bins)

    • meat and fat
    • dairy

    NOT Compostable 

    • disposable products from WesWings and Red & Black other than plates
    • plastic cutlery, stirrers
    • oils
    • liquids
    • recyclable materials (glass, metal, plastic)
    • cleaning products/chemicals
    • gloves (from food prep)
    • trash
  • How do I get a compost bucket?

    To request a bucket for an office or residence, fill out the bucket request form. Please be advised that the bucket supply changes with the season and new buckets are not always available immediately.

    Compost participants receive a bucket and instructions for collection and are responsible for emptying the bucket into the nearest black composting bin.
  • What do I do with my compost during Spring Move Out?

    Before you leave campus, please do the following:

    • Residence Hall residents: Environmental Fellows will remove the compost bucket from your building.  If you have a compost jar that you will not want to keep, please notify your Environmental Fellow so that we can reuse them.

    • Woodframe/Program House/Fauver/High Rise/Low Rise/apartment residents: Please bring your compost bucket to the nearest backyard black composting bin (do NOT empty) no later than May 17th. Visit the campus composting map if you’ve forgotten where to bring your compost.  Please do not leave bins at your back door. 

    Email sustainability@wesleyan.edu if you have any questions.