The Skutt Compost Pilot started on January 27 and will last until Mar. 27, 2025. The Office of Sustainability asks students to place their compostable bowls, utensils, cups, lids, food items and napkins into the green compost bins in the Skutt Student Center or along the mall. The pilot runs from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday.  

The Skutt Compost Pilot is an initiative created to collect data on how much compostable waste is made in Wareham Court and the Skutt Student Center, since the restaurants located in Skutt now use compostable bowls, cups and utensils. The goal of the Skutt Compost Pilot is to add a permanent composting structure to the Skutt Student Center.  

There are four stations in the Skutt Student Center; two are in Wareham Court, one is in the middle of Skutt and one is near the Skutt ballroom.  

Since starting the project, the biggest issue has been with the Qdoba bowls.  

“One of the biggest contamination issues is the Qdoba plastic lids—they are recyclable, but many people leave them on and discard the entire container in the green compost bin. While people generally want to dispose of waste correctly, they are often in a hurry and prioritize convenience, which remains an ongoing challenge,” April Thompson, the project and reporting coordinator for the Office of Sustainability Programs, said. 

In the 2024 academic year, Creighton University produced 9.37 tons of compostable waste. The waste was primarily collected from Brandeis Hall and the green bins along the mall. In just the fall semester, 8.5 of these tons were collected. The Skutt Compost Pilot has since collected 1,087 pounds of compost.  

“This is significant, considering we are only tracking compost for three hours a day, four days a week,” Thompson said.  

The university also collected 41.8 tons of recycling during the 2024 academic year.  

In 2018 the EPA found that participating in recycling programs prevented the equivalent of 193 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere in the U.S.  

The Office of Sustainability Programs launched a new “sustainability-related” course attribute to allow students to find courses in the NEST that have sustainability-related content and discussions.  

“Our goal is to have at least one course with this attribute in every department at Creighton,” Andrew Baruth, Ph.D., the director of the Office of Sustainability Programs, said. 

Additionally, individuals, clubs, the Inter-Fraternity Council, labs or residence halls are able to be officially recognized for sustainability efforts with the new sustainability certificate programs.  

With this, the Office of Sustainability Programs has also piloted a residence hall composting program lasting through February and March. The green compost bin can be found on the fifth floor of Swanson Hall, the kitchen in Deglman Hall, the first floor of Graves Hall and the third floor of McGloin.  

“I also want to emphasize the importance of individual participation in compost and recycling initiatives. If each of us individually make small, thoughtful decisions to reduce, reuse, compost and recycle, together we can enact significant change in our community and the world,” Leah McEvoy, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore and the zero waste coordinator and eco-rep lead for the Office of Sustainability Programs, said.