The Relationship of Compost Knowledge, Compost Attitudes, and Environmental Attitudes of College Students

Food waste is the number one material taking up landfill space in the United States.  The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 96% of uneaten food ends up in landfills.  Food and other organic wastes generate greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. College campus cafeterias generate a large amount of food waste and some universities are making efforts to capture and compost food waste.  The purpose of the study was to measure the impact of a college composting program on students’ environmental attitudes, compost knowledge and perceptions of composting.  Undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students were given a survey that included an environmental attitude scale as well as a compost knowledge survey asking college students to rate their composting habits, knowledge of the composting process, and how composting may make them feel.  A total of 660 surveys were collected from two institutions, one in the south and one in the north.  The results indicated a need and desire for compost implementation on college campuses.