"The Campus Composting Initiative, started in 2008 to help Oswego State go "Laker green," has been put on hold since last semester, due to lack of student involvement.

""It has been tough to maintain a consistent schedule when students are away for summer and breaks." said Grace Maxon, a member of the Campus Composting Initiative.

"Within the last year, a majority of the group has graduated or moved on. We hope to gain more interest from current students that will be around to sustain the movement."

"The Composting Initiative is a group on campus interested in implementing composting into the everyday lives of students. The initiative began three years ago as a student’s thesis project became a committee after being presented to Students for Global Change.

"Composting is the natural breakdown of organic materials and is a more environmentally friendly waste removal practice because it creates nutrient rich fertilizer which means less garbage in landfills.

"The original study found that Mackin Dining Center created 169 pounds of waste, 100 pounds of which ended up as compost. This number was small compared to buffet-style dining halls.

""Ultimately we would like to see our campus have a fully functioning and successful composting program designed to handle the large amount of compostable waste on campus." Maxon said. "We would like to design a program off of [the success of other campuses] and adapt it into our campus community and the resources we have to make it happen."

"The initiative made great strides last semester by reaching out to faculty and staff that made the project a reality before it was put on hold this semester. Maxon hopes to see some progress by the spring, and plans to get students involved by educating the campus on what composting is, how to do it and why it is so important on campus and in the community.

""It’s something we’re willing to consider, listen, and continue to learn about it," said Craig Traub, director of dining services.