Bring Your Food Waste to Pullen

Pullen's history of composting began in June 2018 at the instigation of the Earth Ministry mission group, which wanted Pullen to do more to prevent carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere. Pullen had already done so much with the construction of its new addition in 2008, with its green roof, cistern to collect rainwater, and geothermal heating of the building, but we wanted to do more. In 2018, Pullen started composting with the commercial composting service CompostNow.

Composting is a very direct way of preventing carbon dioxide from food waste making its way into the air around us. For every three pounds of food waste, one pound of new soil is created.

Since the start of composting, Pullen has diverted 27,331 pounds of food waste from the dump, yielding 9,019 pounds of compost. We have avoided 2,538 pounds of methane (the worst pollutant for the atmosphere) and 71,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. This is roughly the same as not driving your car for 79,000 miles.

Since composting has proven so popular at Pullen, the Earth Ministry group has decided, on a trial basis, to open up our compost bin outside to Pullen members to use for their food waste. We think we have the excess capacity to do this, but if needed, we will add another bin. The compost bin is located in the walkway just outside the old Host program office beside Finlator Hall, and will accept all kinds of food waste, including bones and meat (which is not recommended for home composting). Please feel free to bring your food waste to Pullen's compost bin. All are welcome.