August 1, 2025 • 25 mins
Turning trash into treasure might sound like a fairy tale, but at Craig Hospital, it's everyday reality. For nearly six years, this pioneering healthcare facility has been transforming food waste into "soil-saving gold," diverting an impressive 100,000 pounds of compost annually from landfills.
The magic happens through a grassroots effort led by 44 dedicated staff members who maintain ten strategically placed compost bins throughout the hospital. Media production specialist Tyler Smith and internal communications specialist Scott Adams invite horticultural therapist Mattie Cryer and physical therapist Steph Jackson to uncover the inner workings of this remarkable sustainability initiative.
What makes Craig's program special isn't just the impressive numbers—it's the closed-loop system they've created. Working with Wompost, a woman-owned composting company from Aurora, Craig receives finished compost that patients help spread in the hospital's therapeutic gardens. This creates a perfect circle: cafeteria waste becomes nutrient-rich soil that grows fresh produce and flowering plants, which in turn support patient rehabilitation through horticultural therapy.
The environmental impact extends far beyond waste reduction. As Maddie explains, composting plays a crucial role in climate resilience, preventing harmful emissions, conserving water, preventing soil erosion, and regenerating soil. With the EPA reporting that only 5% of food waste gets composted nationwide—while food waste constitutes nearly a quarter of landfill content—Craig's efforts represent significant potential for broader change in waste management.
Whether you're curious about what can be composted (those green-striped cafeteria containers) versus what can't (ketchup packets and outside food containers), looking to start composting at home, or just want to hear Scott and Tyler's hilariously educational "Compost or Bust" game, this episode delivers both practical knowledge and inspiration. Listen now to discover how one hospital is proving that sustainability and healthcare go hand in hand—and perhaps find yourself motivated to start your own composting journey.
Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, is a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that specializes exclusively in the neurorehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). Craig is a not-for-profit, free-standing, national center of excellence that has treated more than 34,500 patients with SCI and BI since 1956. https://craighospital.org
For more Information visit: https://craighospital.org/onlyatcraigpodcast
Disclaimer: The content in this podcast is intended for general informational purposes only. Craig Hospital is not affiliated with resources that may be referenced in this podcast. Craig Hospital assumes no liability for any third-party material or for any action or inaction taken as a result of any content or any suggestions made in this podcast and should not be relied upon without independent investigation. Any use of this content by a corporation or other revenue-seeking or -generating organization is prohibited unless first approved by Craig Hospital....
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_04 (00:00):
Welcome to the Only at Craig podcast, where we
discuss all things found only atCraig.
I'm Scott Adams, an internalcommunications specialist here
at Craig Hospital.
And I'm Tyler Smith, Craig'smedia production specialist, and
we're your hosts.
On this podcast, we shareinteresting, sometimes
unbelievable, and often funnystories about the history and
culture of Craig.
(00:23):
Today's episode is aboutcomposting at Craig.
Let's start with some history.
Did you know Craig Hospital hasbeen turning food waste into
soil-saving gold for almost sixyears?
Composting at Craig began backin 2019.
Since then, we've averaged closeto 100,000 pounds of compost
each year as one of the onlyhospitals in our region that
composts.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
Compost bins can be found at several locations
throughout the hospital, makingit easy for staff, patients, and
departments to pitch in.
And speaking of pitching in,there are 44 dedicated, amazing
Craig team members who havestepped up to be a part of the
composting crew.
To them, we say thank you forkeeping the bends moving and the
mission growing.
SPEAKER_04 (01:00):
Craig is proud to work with Wampost, a woman-owned
composting company out ofAurora.
Wampost is helping us close theloop by returning nutrients to
the earth and helping us besustainable.
SPEAKER_02 (01:08):
Last summer, Composting at Craig's hard work
literally paid off as Craigreceived a rebate of 60 gallons
of compost that we use tonourish our on-site gardens.
SPEAKER_04 (01:18):
At Craig, we believe caring for patients and the
planet go hand in hand.
When you see one of the 10 greencomposting bins at Craig,
remember, it's not just trash,it's transformation.
And with that, we are joined bytwo of Composting at Craig's
finest, Maddie Cryer and StephJackson.
Welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Thank you.
Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_04 (01:37):
Maddie, what is it you do at Craig?
SPEAKER_00 (01:39):
So I work as the full-time horticultural
therapist in therapeuticrecreation.
So I'm working with patients andstaff to provide options and
opportunities to get out in thegarden and to learn more about
adaptive gardening.
SPEAKER_04 (01:49):
And Steph?
SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
I'm a physical therapist and I work in our
wheelchair clinic.
So assessing people's posture,helping them figure out what a
wheelchair is and what theymight need when they go home.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
So you don't have any windows just like my office.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
Basement.
SPEAKER_02 (02:02):
Yeah.
And Maddie has all the windows.
SPEAKER_01 (02:05):
The opposite, all the windows.
SPEAKER_04 (02:07):
Yeah.
Nice.
So you come from two completelydifferent departments.
What got you into composting?
I know it's a dirty job.
SPEAKER_01 (02:14):
It doesn't have to be a dirty job.
I mean, there's gloves all overbecause we're a hospital, of
course.
But really, I mean, we have acompost bag, so it's never like
you're doing anything dirty.
But I joined, I think, just bychance hearing about it and
learned that there was a, youknow, you get a free lunch once
a month.
When do you really get a freelunch?
You actually do on compostcommittee, but, you know, taking
(02:35):
it out once a week from whereveryour kind of signed up spot is.
And that's about it.
I mean, it's really not thatinvolved to be a part of the
committee.
SPEAKER_04 (02:43):
Now I'll get to the important part.
Can we talk about this freelunch?
Like, how does it
SPEAKER_01 (02:46):
work?
Yeah.
You get it in an email.
It's a coupon and literally afree lunch.
SPEAKER_04 (02:53):
Awesome.
I'm excited.
SPEAKER_02 (02:55):
That's the sole reason you want to sign
SPEAKER_04 (02:57):
on.
Exactly.
Yeah, we could end the episoderight now.
No gloves needed.
Yeah.
And Maddie, what got you intocomposting?
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
I guess the personal side, I have always been
interested in composting justfrom a love of gardening and
learning more about how tosteward the land that you're
growing on and trying to make ita closed circuit of nutrients
and taking care of the soil.
And then when I started atCraig, I was told, you're on the
compost committee.
So it was from day one.
But I'm so glad that I have beenable to be a part of this
(03:26):
journey with the Craig staff,figuring out how to increase
awareness and make sure peopleare aware that this awesome
thing is going on on campus.
SPEAKER_04 (03:33):
Right.
And you spoke to making staffmore aware of it.
Can you talk maybe about theimpact that it has on Craig and
the greater community?
SPEAKER_00 (03:40):
Sure.
So our composting program isamazing.
It is optional.
The hospital, to my knowledge, Iwasn't here for this, but
everybody voted or talked abouton a campus-wide level that they
wanted us to have composting asan option.
And so it was something that thestaff opted into, which already
shows investment in sort ofcommunity care for both the
Craig Hospital campus, but alsothe Englewood community.
(04:02):
And so this is an opportunityfor us to reduce our output to
landfills and then bring backsome of that again, closing the
circuit, bringing it back toCraig by composting the food
waste that's produced here andthen bringing it to the garden
or to the kitchen garden andusing that broken down nutrients
to feed the next generation ofplants.
SPEAKER_04 (04:21):
Wonderful.
SPEAKER_01 (04:22):
Yeah, in all seriousness, I mean, I joined
for the free lunch, but I thinkit is really cool to be a part
of You know, just to be able tosee something that would be
waste otherwise and is beingused in a different way is a
really cool thing to be a partof.
And I do compost at home, so Ifeel like the fact that I'm able
to do it at work also feltreally special.
SPEAKER_04 (04:41):
How can staff members get involved in
composting at Craig?
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
They can reach out to anyone on the compost
committee.
I'm happy to help field thosequestions.
We are actually...
on the market for a committeeleader.
So if there's anyone out therewho is passionate about compost
like we are, we'd love to chatwith you.
So you're free to reach out tome.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_04 (05:00):
and that's not just at Craig either.
I understand there's outsideorganizations that staff can get
involved with as well.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
You know, outside of Craig, compost is a big thing.
And I did a lot of research forour recent compost day, National
Composting Day.
And all the local, you know,Denver County, Jefferson County,
Douglas County and the city ofDenver all have programs to
various extents.
So some of them are just foryard waste, but others can
(05:26):
actually take food scraps.
And if you are in Denver Countyspecifically, if you do pay for
waste services, they provide afree compost bin with requests.
So you can compost your foodscraps, yard waste, all of that,
and it gets turned into compostthat can be purchased locally.
SPEAKER_02 (05:42):
I just...
Because, I mean, we haveinternet and that's great.
On average, any guesses of howmany pounds of trash per the
average American per year?
Trash?
How many pounds of trash?
SPEAKER_00 (05:58):
Trash.
600.
SPEAKER_02 (05:58):
600?
601.
Wow, price is right.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
1,000.
SPEAKER_02 (06:07):
1,800 pounds of trash.
Wow.
On average, pounds of compost ayear per person.
On average.
Yeah, per person per year.
Per person per year.
So how many pounds of compost doyou do?
I'm going to go with
SPEAKER_04 (06:27):
3,500.
3,500.
600.
No.
SPEAKER_03 (06:32):
400.
SPEAKER_02 (06:33):
400.
400 is closer.
Yeah.
Over 140 pounds per person.
140?
140.
So, I mean...
I was close.
1,800 or 3,500 in Scott's case.
Because he's just a verywasteful person.
Come on, Scott.
You need to start composting.
Versus 140 pounds per person onaverage.
(06:54):
But, I mean, I don't compost,Scott.
I should compost.
I should compost.
I should, yes.
I did...
Just start saving my coffeegrounds, though.
Yay, that's good.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
That's a great start.
SPEAKER_02 (07:07):
What other first steps would you say to anybody
getting into compost?
SPEAKER_00 (07:11):
Absolutely.
Well, if you're at Craig, areally low stakes way to get
involved is just to learn.
what can go into the compost andbeing sure that every time you
throw away a meal that you'reseparating food scraps from
things that need to be thrownaway into the trash can.
And then the next step would beadvocating.
So if you see a friend throwingaway a ketchup packet into the
compost bin, you can say, hey,that's not compostable.
It can go in the trash, but allof these other items on your
(07:32):
tray can go into the compostbin.
If you're looking to compost athome, it's surprisingly easy.
You can get a plastic bin andthen just do a little bit of
research about what needs to goin because there is sort of a
magic touch to brown material orcarbon-based to the green
material, which isnitrogen-based.
But realistically, once you getit set up with a little bit of
knowledge, you just throw yourfood scraps in and stir it every
(07:53):
once in a while.
SPEAKER_04 (07:54):
And you mentioned the bins.
Where can we find bins aroundCraig?
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
Where can we find bins around Craig?
I know that there's definitelysome in the basement cafeteria,
so that's always going to be aneasy option if you're eating
down there.
And you don't even have to sortit yourself.
The cafeteria staff has saidthat if you put your tray loaded
up into the
SPEAKER_02 (08:11):
The tray rack.
The tray rack, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:13):
Then they will be able to separate it for you.
We have one in recreationaltherapy.
There's one...
SPEAKER_02 (08:19):
We have one in marketing.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Both Eastros and both East nursing stations as
well.
SPEAKER_02 (08:27):
I used to see one in the lobby and it's not there
anymore.
SPEAKER_01 (08:30):
We took that away on purpose because...
A few months ago, we were havinga lot of problems with
contamination in the compost,and we kind of determined that
that was the biggest culprit.
And I think part of that wasjust a lack of awareness in
especially folks who are notaround Craig often.
Maybe they're coming throughjust to visit someone or they're
visiting the peak for, you know,rarely or something like that.
(08:53):
And we were getting a lot oftrash or even just like ketchup
packets, plastic bottles,aluminum cans, that kind of
thing, which are great forrecycling, but not for compost.
And Craig was being fined everytime that our local pickup
company would find those things.
So it threatened the, you know,opportunity for us to even
participate in this program.
And we determined that by takingthat one away, we've avoided
(09:15):
fines since then.
SPEAKER_04 (09:16):
So it's very important to accomplish
properly.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
What would be like a typical fine for Scott putting
in the...
Hey, he doesn't have names.
Because if you put in like oneketchup packet, you can't do the
entire bag, right?
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
Correct.
SPEAKER_02 (09:30):
And so the whole thing needs to be scrapped.
Just that bag or everything thatthey took for that day?
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
It varies.
It was my understanding that attimes contamination was so bad
that if they found something,they would just scrap the bag
because it was likely that therewould be more contamination.
Since we've stopped acceptingcompost in the lobby, I know
that several of the compost crewmembers are sorting through the
bags and that contamination hasgone down significantly.
So there is a chance that ifthey find something that they'll
(09:58):
be able to sort through the bagand still use the waste that was
produced.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
I mean, just crazy that thecompost crew I don't even know
how many people are on it.
How many people are on it?
SPEAKER_01 (10:09):
I think there was 44 last time we...
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
Great.
Like, nobody even knows, like,the work that you guys do, and
it's just all behind the scenesand the unsung heroes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Yeah, I mean, that's what started the program.
It was all grassroots effortjust because there was a lot of
enthusiasm from staff.
And Craig pays to provide thesecompostable materials, the to-go
plates and containers and forksand napkins and all that
stuff...
Only the ones from the CraigCafeteria, of course, I should
be clear.
And Bistro.
And the bistro.
Yeah.
(10:41):
Yeah.
Any of our food servicesproducts other than like the
disposable ketchup packets andyogurt containers and things
like that.
But Craig pays extra, obviously,because those products are a
little bit more expensive thanregular old trash.
You know, in order to make thathappen, it relies on staff to
kind of participate and be theones taking out the bins and all
(11:02):
of that.
SPEAKER_04 (11:03):
You mentioned ketchup packets.
What are some other common itemsthat maybe people aren't aware
should be thrown or not thrownin the compost bins?
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
A lot of aluminum cans, plastic bottles, outside
silverware, or if you gettakeout from somewhere local at
a restaurant and they don't havecompostable materials, some
products will say compostable onthem, but they aren't the actual
required products that we payfor.
And that's why if you arecomposting in Denver County
(11:31):
versus Jeffco or Douglas County,they all require something
different, which is reallycomplicated.
And I think a problem with thesystem as a whole...
Ideally, someday we're going toget to a point where it's much
more simple for people toparticipate in this because it's
important.
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
Well, an easy way to to recognize what can be
composted here at Craig is thatif it's branded, if there is a
label that has a name on it thatis clearly from outside the
cafeteria, then that is notcompostable.
It's going to be any of thepackaging that has the green
stripe that says this iscompostable.
SPEAKER_04 (12:02):
And the green, I know they feel like plastic, but
it's not quite the same, but thegreen like salad bins, those
two?
Yes, those are
SPEAKER_01 (12:08):
compostable.
SPEAKER_04 (12:09):
Good.
So if you see the green, mostlikely it's compostable, right?
Yes.
Okay, good.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
And the kind of cardboard feeling ones that are
from Craig's Cafeteria orbistros are all good too.
SPEAKER_04 (12:19):
What about plates?
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
The ones that come from our bistro are compostable.
But same thing, it's like hardwhen you get takeout from
somewhere and it's a plate thatmaybe looks like it's kind of
cardboardy, But if it's madewith any sort of plastic
coating, that can't becomposted.
SPEAKER_02 (12:34):
Styrofoam.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (12:37):
Right.
Nope.
No styrofoam.
SPEAKER_02 (12:38):
Or the waxy plates or...
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:41):
Yeah.
No waxy plates.
Nothing with dyed paper.
So any like the plastic teabaglabels, those can't go into the
compost.
Or the salt and pepper packets,those can't go into the compost.
The fact that we do compostingat Craig is honestly a big deal
because many hospitals just optout because it can be a cost
sink.
So money...
is kind of flowing into theeffort and then it doesn't
(13:03):
outweigh the benefit for somehospitals.
But because Craig is soinvested, it is sort of setting
a precedent.
You know, Craig is becoming aleader on another front.
I know that a lot of the staffpride themselves on being part
of a hospital that's reallymaking change in a lot of ways.
And this is one of those becausemany hospitals just choose not
to do it because it's too hard.
SPEAKER_04 (13:21):
Maddie, what are some like, you got any
interesting facts maybe aboutcomposting?
SPEAKER_00 (13:24):
Sure.
So whenever you put something inthe compost, it, if it's organic
material, it'll break downwithin probably a year.
There's industrial machines thatare facilitating this process
where it's adding pressure andheat and allowing it to
decompose a lot faster.
So if you put a banana peel inthe landfill, it'll take two
years to break down where it'sless than a year in a compost
(13:45):
machine.
And then for plastic, If you putit into, so let's say we put a
ketchup packet into the compost,it's still going to take a very
long time, if it makes it intothe compost even, to break down
or it'll contaminate a batch.
And then if you put it in alandfill, it'll take 20 to 1,000
years to break down.
So that really highlights theimportance of separating your
waste into the appropriate binsso that you can allow that
(14:07):
natural decomposition to happenwith the food scraps.
SPEAKER_04 (14:09):
How does the composting get back to, say,
horticulture for you to use?
SPEAKER_00 (14:13):
Yeah, so Wampost will bring loads of the compost
once it's been fully broken downto the campus.
This last time, they justbrought it and dumped it into a
pile, and so we were able toseparate it into the different
garden beds.
And in April, we had patientslay out the compost, so around
the veggie plants we wereplanting, the annuals.
So all of the brown dirt thatyou see on the surface of the
raised beds in the garden iscompost right now.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
Another thing that nobody even realizes that Like
the plants are planted bypatients and staff and then the
soil and everyone's chipping in.
Hopefully now that they listento this and Scott, no more
ketchup packets.
It was one time.
It was one time.
That's so cool though.
Like how many, how many, how,like how big was that pile?
(14:56):
Like on average, do you havelike a yearly, like pounds of
compost we get?
SPEAKER_00 (15:00):
You can request any amount.
So we asked for, I think.
just a certain amount of gallonsso that we could use some in our
portion of the garden.
And then Bryce, the director offood services in the kitchen,
was able to use some for thekitchen garden that's behind the
little cafeteria patio.
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
What, there's 1,200 employees here or something like
that?
We could get 1,000 people oncompost.
Come on.
We can do it.
It's a lot of free meals.
Free lunches,
SPEAKER_04 (15:26):
yeah.
Bryce is going to be busy.
Maddie, what are some of thebenefits of composting?
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
So benefits of composting are far and wide, but
specifically in sort of the Theecological aspect or lens,
composting is a huge factor inclimate resilience for local
ecology and ecosystems.
So it sequesters carbon andprevents some of those
greenhouse gases from beingemitted.
(15:53):
And it helps conserve water andprevent soil erosion.
It improves the water qualityand it regenerates soil.
So the fact that we're able todo this in sort of a local
sphere where we're, you know,asking OnePost to bring us the
compost.
And then we use that to grow thevegetables here on campus that
we're using in the horticultureor in horticultural therapy.
It's allowing us to putnutrients back into the soil
(16:14):
that were from food that waswasted, not wasted, from food
that was thrown away here atCraig.
And so people are able to modelthis at home as well.
And ideally it'd be great if wecould do this on like a huge
wide, wide scale, foodproduction level.
We're not there right now interms of food that's produced
just globally and across theworld, but the soil is quickly
(16:35):
degenerating.
And so if we're able to promotecompost as something that people
can do at home, it's going tochip away at the sort of the
problem that we're facing wheresoil is becoming eroded very
quickly and is not full of thenutrients that it historically
has had.
SPEAKER_04 (16:48):
So it's having a huge impact.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (16:50):
Yeah.
I mean, I was going to add thatCompost Colorado is one
organization that you canactually pay to have pick up
your waste at home.
I shouldn't say your waste, butyour compostable items, or
specifically food scraps, thingslike that.
So their packages start at$5 aweek.
And as a perk, you actually getfree compost in the spring.
(17:11):
So for anybody who has a gardenat home, you know, you can have
like a little bit of a fullcircle thing going on even at
your own home for not tooexpensive.
SPEAKER_02 (17:18):
That's awesome.
I've never even thought of that.
But like, Someone did.
And that just makes it supereasy.
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing that.
And then I remember to actuallyplant my garden too.
Great.
SPEAKER_00 (17:31):
One step at a time.
SPEAKER_02 (17:32):
Yeah.
One step at a time.
SPEAKER_00 (17:33):
And then the other fact that might be interesting
is that the EnvironmentalProtection Agency said in
February of this year that only5% of food waste was composted.
And so there's a ton of ton offood that's being sent to the
landfill, and it makes up almosta quarter, so 24.1% of
everything that's thrown away inthe landfill.
So if you think about all ofthat food being diverted to
(17:54):
local composting programs, thatwould make a huge impact on the
amount of waste in landfills,the amount of municipal effort
and money that's spent on waste.
So it could significantly changethe landscape of what we're
putting out as waste.
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
Yeah, seriously.
Well, if you guys have nothingelse, I have one last surprise
for you all.
Do you have one more?
I
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
have one
SPEAKER_02 (18:15):
more.
Okay, let's hear it.
SPEAKER_01 (18:17):
This is not specific to compost, but it is in the
vein of less waste and morethings that are regenerated.
Just in our environment ingeneral.
(18:54):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04 (19:18):
There's one right behind me,
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
isn't there?
Yeah, there is.
We need to mass produce evenmore.
SPEAKER_04 (19:24):
Yeah, we'll get on it.
SPEAKER_02 (19:27):
All right, Scott, do you feel educated?
Yes, beyond educated.
Okay, I have a game because Ilike making up surprises.
This game is called Compost orBust.
And so you need to tell me ifyou can compost it or it's a
bust, okay?
Okay.
Very simple rules.
(19:48):
Scott is going to go first andthen you two can answer.
Scott, are you ready?
SPEAKER_04 (19:54):
I think so.
SPEAKER_02 (19:55):
Okay.
It's just deep breath.
It's okay.
A very old moldy teabag with arusty staple hanging from it
that is connecting to thestring.
SPEAKER_04 (20:07):
How old are we talking?
It's moldy.
It's moldy?
Okay.
It's got to be pretty old.
The staple is kind of...
That's kind of important, isn'tit?
I mean...
I
SPEAKER_02 (20:17):
mean, you said you were educated.
SPEAKER_04 (20:19):
I know.
I'm going to have to say nobecause of the staple because
you can't compost metal,correct?
SPEAKER_00 (20:24):
Correct.
You can pull the staple out andthen compost.
Yes.
One
SPEAKER_02 (20:29):
extra point goes to Maddie for saying what you
should do.
Okay.
I appreciate that, Maddie.
Make sure you have your tetanusshot and proper gloves that are
compostable.
Got it.
A sock that has been worn everyday for a month without washing
it.
SPEAKER_04 (20:47):
sock, man.
No, right?
It can't be compostable.
What?
You're laughing.
What?
What about you, Steph?
SPEAKER_01 (20:54):
Such a funny example.
SPEAKER_04 (20:57):
I know.
I thought it was one sock, nottwo, because you always lose one
in the wash, right?
Okay, yeah.
Okay.
Ladies?
SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
I have to agree.
I think no.
SPEAKER_00 (21:06):
Not at Craig.
If you find a facility thataccepts 100% cotton...
then yes.
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
Another extra point goes to Maddie.
Bonus points, killing me.
Yeah, good job, Maddie.
And I know all the answersbecause I'm very smart and I
definitely didn't have to lookup any of this stuff.
But yeah, bust, fabric, evencotton has often synthetic
blends or dyes not ideal forcomposting.
And then it also said plus ew.
(21:33):
Oh, yeah, ew, exactly.
That's a huge bust.
Okay.
the last remaining crumb from agiant bag of potato chips.
The last crumb?
Why would you waste it?
SPEAKER_04 (21:44):
But if you wanted to compost it...
SPEAKER_02 (21:46):
What
SPEAKER_04 (21:46):
if you're full?
Okay, I'm going to say you canif you want to compost that
crumb.
If you really want to.
Bingo.
Okay, thank you.
They're both like,
SPEAKER_03 (21:56):
good job, Scott.
SPEAKER_02 (21:58):
Please compost that.
Well, this is a tricky one, soI'll go to Steph.
Are you ready?
All right.
A love letter...
Written on a single dried outbanana peel.
SPEAKER_01 (22:09):
That is a hard one, Tyler.
That's
SPEAKER_04 (22:11):
a cry for help.
SPEAKER_01 (22:14):
Is it the love letter that changes this
question?
SPEAKER_04 (22:18):
Who says romance is dead?
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
I feel like the ink probably is not compostable.
SPEAKER_04 (22:27):
Come on, Maddie.
Anyone else?
SPEAKER_00 (22:29):
I think I agree.
I mean, I'm sure it would bemarginal.
And I don't know if it'd betraceable, the ink, but the ink
itself, I feel like is notcompostable.
SPEAKER_02 (22:40):
And
SPEAKER_04 (22:41):
Scott's just going to copy
SPEAKER_02 (22:42):
your answers.
I'm just going to, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (22:43):
I'm just going to throw it in the compost and hope
for the best.
SPEAKER_02 (22:45):
Compost, banana peel is organic.
The ink might be a tiny issue,but largely compostable.
Oh.
So extra point.
SPEAKER_04 (22:55):
Yeah.
Maddie with
SPEAKER_02 (22:56):
the extra.
Maddie, I'll do this one to you.
How about your co-host bad punfrom last week's episode?
SPEAKER_00 (23:04):
Well, I guess it depends on how rancid it was.
SPEAKER_02 (23:11):
Scott, any insight on that
SPEAKER_04 (23:12):
one?
I'm going to say recyclablebecause you can always recycle
SPEAKER_02 (23:15):
a bed.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah.
This is another tricky one.
You guys can work as a team oryou very smart ladies will know
it right off the bat.
A fossilized dinosaur bone.
Interesting.
Intrigue.
Yeah, dead silence.
SPEAKER_01 (23:31):
I don't know enough about fossils, but I would say
compostable because it'sprobably organic materials.
If
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
it's fossilized, I think that...
It's a rock at that point, so Idon't know that it would break
down, but it is technically anorganic material.
SPEAKER_02 (23:43):
I mean, we are so good at teamwork here at Craig.
Right.
Bust.
While organic once, it's nowmineralized, and it's a rock.
Clever girl.
Great job.
Clever girl.
I got four more, and we'll gorapid fire.
Okay.
With no explanation.
You can just say it.
A slice of pizza that has beenteleported from another
(24:04):
dimension...
Well, the dimension part throws
SPEAKER_04 (24:07):
me, but it's got to be a no, right?
I mean, it is combustible.
Yeah, compost.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
Compost.
I don't want to eat that pizza.
Compost, as long as it doesn'thave any alien goo or anything
like that on it.
Instruction manual for a timemachine.
Instruction manual?
Instruction manual for a timemachine.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
If it's printed on the appropriate paper, then yes.
SPEAKER_02 (24:27):
That's
SPEAKER_04 (24:28):
what I was
SPEAKER_02 (24:28):
going to say.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:30):
Yeah, depends on the paper.
SPEAKER_02 (24:32):
Paper, yes, but likely has inks and chemicals.
SPEAKER_01 (24:35):
I don't want to make this feel complicated.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
Leftover coffee grounds from making this game
from brainstorming session lastnight.
SPEAKER_00 (24:43):
Compostable.
Compost.
SPEAKER_04 (24:45):
Perfect.
It's still warm, but compost,yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
And I was too lazy to shave, so a beard hair from a
very wise wizard who happens tofrequent the Craig campus.
Beard hair.
SPEAKER_04 (24:58):
Oh, the look that Maddie just gave.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
We're looking for the catch.
The hair, yes.
The wizard part.
SPEAKER_04 (25:06):
Wizard part, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Sure.
SPEAKER_04 (25:08):
I'll stick with compost.
It's a very wise wizard.
Very
SPEAKER_00 (25:11):
wise.
Maybe it's going to make thecompost magically have no
contamination from his magic.
So yes,
SPEAKER_02 (25:17):
compostable.
Compost.
Yeah.
Hair is organic.
As long as it's not, it says,but make sure it's not too long
and tangled.
I have nothing else.
I'm going to stop talking.
SPEAKER_04 (25:32):
Well, that's going to do it for us.
Maddie, Steph, thank you forjoining us and tune in next time
when we show you combustiblesAccurate.
UNKNOWN (25:39):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (25:40):
Thanks.
Welcome to the Only at Craig podcast, where we
discuss all things found only atCraig.
I'm Scott Adams, an internalcommunications specialist here
at Craig Hospital.
And I'm Tyler Smith, Craig'smedia production specialist, and
we're your hosts.
On this podcast, we shareinteresting, sometimes
unbelievable, and often funnystories about the history and
culture of Craig.
(00:23):
Today's episode is aboutcomposting at Craig.
Let's start with some history.
Did you know Craig Hospital hasbeen turning food waste into
soil-saving gold for almost sixyears?
Composting at Craig began backin 2019.
Since then, we've averaged closeto 100,000 pounds of compost
each year as one of the onlyhospitals in our region that
composts.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
Compost bins can be found at several locations
throughout the hospital, makingit easy for staff, patients, and
departments to pitch in.
And speaking of pitching in,there are 44 dedicated, amazing
Craig team members who havestepped up to be a part of the
composting crew.
To them, we say thank you forkeeping the bends moving and the
mission growing.
SPEAKER_04 (01:00):
Craig is proud to work with Wampost, a woman-owned
composting company out ofAurora.
Wampost is helping us close theloop by returning nutrients to
the earth and helping us besustainable.
SPEAKER_02 (01:08):
Last summer, Composting at Craig's hard work
literally paid off as Craigreceived a rebate of 60 gallons
of compost that we use tonourish our on-site gardens.
SPEAKER_04 (01:18):
At Craig, we believe caring for patients and the
planet go hand in hand.
When you see one of the 10 greencomposting bins at Craig,
remember, it's not just trash,it's transformation.
And with that, we are joined bytwo of Composting at Craig's
finest, Maddie Cryer and StephJackson.
Welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (01:35):
Thank you.
Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_04 (01:37):
Maddie, what is it you do at Craig?
SPEAKER_00 (01:39):
So I work as the full-time horticultural
therapist in therapeuticrecreation.
So I'm working with patients andstaff to provide options and
opportunities to get out in thegarden and to learn more about
adaptive gardening.
SPEAKER_04 (01:49):
And Steph?
SPEAKER_01 (01:50):
I'm a physical therapist and I work in our
wheelchair clinic.
So assessing people's posture,helping them figure out what a
wheelchair is and what theymight need when they go home.
SPEAKER_02 (01:59):
So you don't have any windows just like my office.
SPEAKER_01 (02:01):
Basement.
SPEAKER_02 (02:02):
Yeah.
And Maddie has all the windows.
SPEAKER_01 (02:05):
The opposite, all the windows.
SPEAKER_04 (02:07):
Yeah.
Nice.
So you come from two completelydifferent departments.
What got you into composting?
I know it's a dirty job.
SPEAKER_01 (02:14):
It doesn't have to be a dirty job.
I mean, there's gloves all overbecause we're a hospital, of
course.
But really, I mean, we have acompost bag, so it's never like
you're doing anything dirty.
But I joined, I think, just bychance hearing about it and
learned that there was a, youknow, you get a free lunch once
a month.
When do you really get a freelunch?
You actually do on compostcommittee, but, you know, taking
(02:35):
it out once a week from whereveryour kind of signed up spot is.
And that's about it.
I mean, it's really not thatinvolved to be a part of the
committee.
SPEAKER_04 (02:43):
Now I'll get to the important part.
Can we talk about this freelunch?
Like, how does it
SPEAKER_01 (02:46):
work?
Yeah.
You get it in an email.
It's a coupon and literally afree lunch.
SPEAKER_04 (02:53):
Awesome.
I'm excited.
SPEAKER_02 (02:55):
That's the sole reason you want to sign
SPEAKER_04 (02:57):
on.
Exactly.
Yeah, we could end the episoderight now.
No gloves needed.
Yeah.
And Maddie, what got you intocomposting?
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
I guess the personal side, I have always been
interested in composting justfrom a love of gardening and
learning more about how tosteward the land that you're
growing on and trying to make ita closed circuit of nutrients
and taking care of the soil.
And then when I started atCraig, I was told, you're on the
compost committee.
So it was from day one.
But I'm so glad that I have beenable to be a part of this
(03:26):
journey with the Craig staff,figuring out how to increase
awareness and make sure peopleare aware that this awesome
thing is going on on campus.
SPEAKER_04 (03:33):
Right.
And you spoke to making staffmore aware of it.
Can you talk maybe about theimpact that it has on Craig and
the greater community?
SPEAKER_00 (03:40):
Sure.
So our composting program isamazing.
It is optional.
The hospital, to my knowledge, Iwasn't here for this, but
everybody voted or talked abouton a campus-wide level that they
wanted us to have composting asan option.
And so it was something that thestaff opted into, which already
shows investment in sort ofcommunity care for both the
Craig Hospital campus, but alsothe Englewood community.
(04:02):
And so this is an opportunityfor us to reduce our output to
landfills and then bring backsome of that again, closing the
circuit, bringing it back toCraig by composting the food
waste that's produced here andthen bringing it to the garden
or to the kitchen garden andusing that broken down nutrients
to feed the next generation ofplants.
SPEAKER_04 (04:21):
Wonderful.
SPEAKER_01 (04:22):
Yeah, in all seriousness, I mean, I joined
for the free lunch, but I thinkit is really cool to be a part
of You know, just to be able tosee something that would be
waste otherwise and is beingused in a different way is a
really cool thing to be a partof.
And I do compost at home, so Ifeel like the fact that I'm able
to do it at work also feltreally special.
SPEAKER_04 (04:41):
How can staff members get involved in
composting at Craig?
SPEAKER_01 (04:45):
They can reach out to anyone on the compost
committee.
I'm happy to help field thosequestions.
We are actually...
on the market for a committeeleader.
So if there's anyone out therewho is passionate about compost
like we are, we'd love to chatwith you.
So you're free to reach out tome.
Yeah,
SPEAKER_04 (05:00):
and that's not just at Craig either.
I understand there's outsideorganizations that staff can get
involved with as well.
SPEAKER_01 (05:06):
You know, outside of Craig, compost is a big thing.
And I did a lot of research forour recent compost day, National
Composting Day.
And all the local, you know,Denver County, Jefferson County,
Douglas County and the city ofDenver all have programs to
various extents.
So some of them are just foryard waste, but others can
(05:26):
actually take food scraps.
And if you are in Denver Countyspecifically, if you do pay for
waste services, they provide afree compost bin with requests.
So you can compost your foodscraps, yard waste, all of that,
and it gets turned into compostthat can be purchased locally.
SPEAKER_02 (05:42):
I just...
Because, I mean, we haveinternet and that's great.
On average, any guesses of howmany pounds of trash per the
average American per year?
Trash?
How many pounds of trash?
SPEAKER_00 (05:58):
Trash.
600.
SPEAKER_02 (05:58):
600?
601.
Wow, price is right.
SPEAKER_01 (06:04):
1,000.
SPEAKER_02 (06:07):
1,800 pounds of trash.
Wow.
On average, pounds of compost ayear per person.
On average.
Yeah, per person per year.
Per person per year.
So how many pounds of compost doyou do?
I'm going to go with
SPEAKER_04 (06:27):
3,500.
3,500.
600.
No.
SPEAKER_03 (06:32):
400.
SPEAKER_02 (06:33):
400.
400 is closer.
Yeah.
Over 140 pounds per person.
140?
140.
So, I mean...
I was close.
1,800 or 3,500 in Scott's case.
Because he's just a verywasteful person.
Come on, Scott.
You need to start composting.
Versus 140 pounds per person onaverage.
(06:54):
But, I mean, I don't compost,Scott.
I should compost.
I should compost.
I should, yes.
I did...
Just start saving my coffeegrounds, though.
Yay, that's good.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
That's a great start.
SPEAKER_02 (07:07):
What other first steps would you say to anybody
getting into compost?
SPEAKER_00 (07:11):
Absolutely.
Well, if you're at Craig, areally low stakes way to get
involved is just to learn.
what can go into the compost andbeing sure that every time you
throw away a meal that you'reseparating food scraps from
things that need to be thrownaway into the trash can.
And then the next step would beadvocating.
So if you see a friend throwingaway a ketchup packet into the
compost bin, you can say, hey,that's not compostable.
It can go in the trash, but allof these other items on your
(07:32):
tray can go into the compostbin.
If you're looking to compost athome, it's surprisingly easy.
You can get a plastic bin andthen just do a little bit of
research about what needs to goin because there is sort of a
magic touch to brown material orcarbon-based to the green
material, which isnitrogen-based.
But realistically, once you getit set up with a little bit of
knowledge, you just throw yourfood scraps in and stir it every
(07:53):
once in a while.
SPEAKER_04 (07:54):
And you mentioned the bins.
Where can we find bins aroundCraig?
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
Where can we find bins around Craig?
I know that there's definitelysome in the basement cafeteria,
so that's always going to be aneasy option if you're eating
down there.
And you don't even have to sortit yourself.
The cafeteria staff has saidthat if you put your tray loaded
up into the
SPEAKER_02 (08:11):
The tray rack.
The tray rack, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (08:13):
Then they will be able to separate it for you.
We have one in recreationaltherapy.
There's one...
SPEAKER_02 (08:19):
We have one in marketing.
SPEAKER_01 (08:21):
Both Eastros and both East nursing stations as
well.
SPEAKER_02 (08:27):
I used to see one in the lobby and it's not there
anymore.
SPEAKER_01 (08:30):
We took that away on purpose because...
A few months ago, we were havinga lot of problems with
contamination in the compost,and we kind of determined that
that was the biggest culprit.
And I think part of that wasjust a lack of awareness in
especially folks who are notaround Craig often.
Maybe they're coming throughjust to visit someone or they're
visiting the peak for, you know,rarely or something like that.
(08:53):
And we were getting a lot oftrash or even just like ketchup
packets, plastic bottles,aluminum cans, that kind of
thing, which are great forrecycling, but not for compost.
And Craig was being fined everytime that our local pickup
company would find those things.
So it threatened the, you know,opportunity for us to even
participate in this program.
And we determined that by takingthat one away, we've avoided
(09:15):
fines since then.
SPEAKER_04 (09:16):
So it's very important to accomplish
properly.
SPEAKER_02 (09:18):
What would be like a typical fine for Scott putting
in the...
Hey, he doesn't have names.
Because if you put in like oneketchup packet, you can't do the
entire bag, right?
SPEAKER_00 (09:30):
Correct.
SPEAKER_02 (09:30):
And so the whole thing needs to be scrapped.
Just that bag or everything thatthey took for that day?
SPEAKER_00 (09:37):
It varies.
It was my understanding that attimes contamination was so bad
that if they found something,they would just scrap the bag
because it was likely that therewould be more contamination.
Since we've stopped acceptingcompost in the lobby, I know
that several of the compost crewmembers are sorting through the
bags and that contamination hasgone down significantly.
So there is a chance that ifthey find something that they'll
(09:58):
be able to sort through the bagand still use the waste that was
produced.
SPEAKER_02 (10:02):
Wow.
Yeah.
Wow.
I mean, just crazy that thecompost crew I don't even know
how many people are on it.
How many people are on it?
SPEAKER_01 (10:09):
I think there was 44 last time we...
Wow.
SPEAKER_02 (10:12):
Great.
Like, nobody even knows, like,the work that you guys do, and
it's just all behind the scenesand the unsung heroes.
SPEAKER_01 (10:21):
Yeah, I mean, that's what started the program.
It was all grassroots effortjust because there was a lot of
enthusiasm from staff.
And Craig pays to provide thesecompostable materials, the to-go
plates and containers and forksand napkins and all that
stuff...
Only the ones from the CraigCafeteria, of course, I should
be clear.
And Bistro.
And the bistro.
Yeah.
(10:41):
Yeah.
Any of our food servicesproducts other than like the
disposable ketchup packets andyogurt containers and things
like that.
But Craig pays extra, obviously,because those products are a
little bit more expensive thanregular old trash.
You know, in order to make thathappen, it relies on staff to
kind of participate and be theones taking out the bins and all
(11:02):
of that.
SPEAKER_04 (11:03):
You mentioned ketchup packets.
What are some other common itemsthat maybe people aren't aware
should be thrown or not thrownin the compost bins?
SPEAKER_01 (11:11):
A lot of aluminum cans, plastic bottles, outside
silverware, or if you gettakeout from somewhere local at
a restaurant and they don't havecompostable materials, some
products will say compostable onthem, but they aren't the actual
required products that we payfor.
And that's why if you arecomposting in Denver County
(11:31):
versus Jeffco or Douglas County,they all require something
different, which is reallycomplicated.
And I think a problem with thesystem as a whole...
Ideally, someday we're going toget to a point where it's much
more simple for people toparticipate in this because it's
important.
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
Well, an easy way to to recognize what can be
composted here at Craig is thatif it's branded, if there is a
label that has a name on it thatis clearly from outside the
cafeteria, then that is notcompostable.
It's going to be any of thepackaging that has the green
stripe that says this iscompostable.
SPEAKER_04 (12:02):
And the green, I know they feel like plastic, but
it's not quite the same, but thegreen like salad bins, those
two?
Yes, those are
SPEAKER_01 (12:08):
compostable.
SPEAKER_04 (12:09):
Good.
So if you see the green, mostlikely it's compostable, right?
Yes.
Okay, good.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
And the kind of cardboard feeling ones that are
from Craig's Cafeteria orbistros are all good too.
SPEAKER_04 (12:19):
What about plates?
SPEAKER_01 (12:21):
The ones that come from our bistro are compostable.
But same thing, it's like hardwhen you get takeout from
somewhere and it's a plate thatmaybe looks like it's kind of
cardboardy, But if it's madewith any sort of plastic
coating, that can't becomposted.
SPEAKER_02 (12:34):
Styrofoam.
Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (12:37):
Right.
Nope.
No styrofoam.
SPEAKER_02 (12:38):
Or the waxy plates or...
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (12:41):
Yeah.
No waxy plates.
Nothing with dyed paper.
So any like the plastic teabaglabels, those can't go into the
compost.
Or the salt and pepper packets,those can't go into the compost.
The fact that we do compostingat Craig is honestly a big deal
because many hospitals just optout because it can be a cost
sink.
So money...
is kind of flowing into theeffort and then it doesn't
(13:03):
outweigh the benefit for somehospitals.
But because Craig is soinvested, it is sort of setting
a precedent.
You know, Craig is becoming aleader on another front.
I know that a lot of the staffpride themselves on being part
of a hospital that's reallymaking change in a lot of ways.
And this is one of those becausemany hospitals just choose not
to do it because it's too hard.
SPEAKER_04 (13:21):
Maddie, what are some like, you got any
interesting facts maybe aboutcomposting?
SPEAKER_00 (13:24):
Sure.
So whenever you put something inthe compost, it, if it's organic
material, it'll break downwithin probably a year.
There's industrial machines thatare facilitating this process
where it's adding pressure andheat and allowing it to
decompose a lot faster.
So if you put a banana peel inthe landfill, it'll take two
years to break down where it'sless than a year in a compost
(13:45):
machine.
And then for plastic, If you putit into, so let's say we put a
ketchup packet into the compost,it's still going to take a very
long time, if it makes it intothe compost even, to break down
or it'll contaminate a batch.
And then if you put it in alandfill, it'll take 20 to 1,000
years to break down.
So that really highlights theimportance of separating your
waste into the appropriate binsso that you can allow that
(14:07):
natural decomposition to happenwith the food scraps.
SPEAKER_04 (14:09):
How does the composting get back to, say,
horticulture for you to use?
SPEAKER_00 (14:13):
Yeah, so Wampost will bring loads of the compost
once it's been fully broken downto the campus.
This last time, they justbrought it and dumped it into a
pile, and so we were able toseparate it into the different
garden beds.
And in April, we had patientslay out the compost, so around
the veggie plants we wereplanting, the annuals.
So all of the brown dirt thatyou see on the surface of the
raised beds in the garden iscompost right now.
SPEAKER_02 (14:34):
Another thing that nobody even realizes that Like
the plants are planted bypatients and staff and then the
soil and everyone's chipping in.
Hopefully now that they listento this and Scott, no more
ketchup packets.
It was one time.
It was one time.
That's so cool though.
Like how many, how many, how,like how big was that pile?
(14:56):
Like on average, do you havelike a yearly, like pounds of
compost we get?
SPEAKER_00 (15:00):
You can request any amount.
So we asked for, I think.
just a certain amount of gallonsso that we could use some in our
portion of the garden.
And then Bryce, the director offood services in the kitchen,
was able to use some for thekitchen garden that's behind the
little cafeteria patio.
SPEAKER_02 (15:14):
What, there's 1,200 employees here or something like
that?
We could get 1,000 people oncompost.
Come on.
We can do it.
It's a lot of free meals.
Free lunches,
SPEAKER_04 (15:26):
yeah.
Bryce is going to be busy.
Maddie, what are some of thebenefits of composting?
SPEAKER_00 (15:31):
So benefits of composting are far and wide, but
specifically in sort of the Theecological aspect or lens,
composting is a huge factor inclimate resilience for local
ecology and ecosystems.
So it sequesters carbon andprevents some of those
greenhouse gases from beingemitted.
(15:53):
And it helps conserve water andprevent soil erosion.
It improves the water qualityand it regenerates soil.
So the fact that we're able todo this in sort of a local
sphere where we're, you know,asking OnePost to bring us the
compost.
And then we use that to grow thevegetables here on campus that
we're using in the horticultureor in horticultural therapy.
It's allowing us to putnutrients back into the soil
(16:14):
that were from food that waswasted, not wasted, from food
that was thrown away here atCraig.
And so people are able to modelthis at home as well.
And ideally it'd be great if wecould do this on like a huge
wide, wide scale, foodproduction level.
We're not there right now interms of food that's produced
just globally and across theworld, but the soil is quickly
(16:35):
degenerating.
And so if we're able to promotecompost as something that people
can do at home, it's going tochip away at the sort of the
problem that we're facing wheresoil is becoming eroded very
quickly and is not full of thenutrients that it historically
has had.
SPEAKER_04 (16:48):
So it's having a huge impact.
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (16:50):
Yeah.
I mean, I was going to add thatCompost Colorado is one
organization that you canactually pay to have pick up
your waste at home.
I shouldn't say your waste, butyour compostable items, or
specifically food scraps, thingslike that.
So their packages start at$5 aweek.
And as a perk, you actually getfree compost in the spring.
(17:11):
So for anybody who has a gardenat home, you know, you can have
like a little bit of a fullcircle thing going on even at
your own home for not tooexpensive.
SPEAKER_02 (17:18):
That's awesome.
I've never even thought of that.
But like, Someone did.
And that just makes it supereasy.
Yeah.
Thanks for sharing that.
And then I remember to actuallyplant my garden too.
Great.
SPEAKER_00 (17:31):
One step at a time.
SPEAKER_02 (17:32):
Yeah.
One step at a time.
SPEAKER_00 (17:33):
And then the other fact that might be interesting
is that the EnvironmentalProtection Agency said in
February of this year that only5% of food waste was composted.
And so there's a ton of ton offood that's being sent to the
landfill, and it makes up almosta quarter, so 24.1% of
everything that's thrown away inthe landfill.
So if you think about all ofthat food being diverted to
(17:54):
local composting programs, thatwould make a huge impact on the
amount of waste in landfills,the amount of municipal effort
and money that's spent on waste.
So it could significantly changethe landscape of what we're
putting out as waste.
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
Yeah, seriously.
Well, if you guys have nothingelse, I have one last surprise
for you all.
Do you have one more?
I
SPEAKER_01 (18:15):
have one
SPEAKER_02 (18:15):
more.
Okay, let's hear it.
SPEAKER_01 (18:17):
This is not specific to compost, but it is in the
vein of less waste and morethings that are regenerated.
Just in our environment ingeneral.
(18:54):
Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_04 (19:18):
There's one right behind me,
SPEAKER_02 (19:19):
isn't there?
Yeah, there is.
We need to mass produce evenmore.
SPEAKER_04 (19:24):
Yeah, we'll get on it.
SPEAKER_02 (19:27):
All right, Scott, do you feel educated?
Yes, beyond educated.
Okay, I have a game because Ilike making up surprises.
This game is called Compost orBust.
And so you need to tell me ifyou can compost it or it's a
bust, okay?
Okay.
Very simple rules.
(19:48):
Scott is going to go first andthen you two can answer.
Scott, are you ready?
SPEAKER_04 (19:54):
I think so.
SPEAKER_02 (19:55):
Okay.
It's just deep breath.
It's okay.
A very old moldy teabag with arusty staple hanging from it
that is connecting to thestring.
SPEAKER_04 (20:07):
How old are we talking?
It's moldy.
It's moldy?
Okay.
It's got to be pretty old.
The staple is kind of...
That's kind of important, isn'tit?
I mean...
I
SPEAKER_02 (20:17):
mean, you said you were educated.
SPEAKER_04 (20:19):
I know.
I'm going to have to say nobecause of the staple because
you can't compost metal,correct?
SPEAKER_00 (20:24):
Correct.
You can pull the staple out andthen compost.
Yes.
One
SPEAKER_02 (20:29):
extra point goes to Maddie for saying what you
should do.
Okay.
I appreciate that, Maddie.
Make sure you have your tetanusshot and proper gloves that are
compostable.
Got it.
A sock that has been worn everyday for a month without washing
it.
SPEAKER_04 (20:47):
sock, man.
No, right?
It can't be compostable.
What?
You're laughing.
What?
What about you, Steph?
SPEAKER_01 (20:54):
Such a funny example.
SPEAKER_04 (20:57):
I know.
I thought it was one sock, nottwo, because you always lose one
in the wash, right?
Okay, yeah.
Okay.
Ladies?
SPEAKER_01 (21:03):
I have to agree.
I think no.
SPEAKER_00 (21:06):
Not at Craig.
If you find a facility thataccepts 100% cotton...
then yes.
SPEAKER_02 (21:11):
Another extra point goes to Maddie.
Bonus points, killing me.
Yeah, good job, Maddie.
And I know all the answersbecause I'm very smart and I
definitely didn't have to lookup any of this stuff.
But yeah, bust, fabric, evencotton has often synthetic
blends or dyes not ideal forcomposting.
And then it also said plus ew.
(21:33):
Oh, yeah, ew, exactly.
That's a huge bust.
Okay.
the last remaining crumb from agiant bag of potato chips.
The last crumb?
Why would you waste it?
SPEAKER_04 (21:44):
But if you wanted to compost it...
SPEAKER_02 (21:46):
What
SPEAKER_04 (21:46):
if you're full?
Okay, I'm going to say you canif you want to compost that
crumb.
If you really want to.
Bingo.
Okay, thank you.
They're both like,
SPEAKER_03 (21:56):
good job, Scott.
SPEAKER_02 (21:58):
Please compost that.
Well, this is a tricky one, soI'll go to Steph.
Are you ready?
All right.
A love letter...
Written on a single dried outbanana peel.
SPEAKER_01 (22:09):
That is a hard one, Tyler.
That's
SPEAKER_04 (22:11):
a cry for help.
SPEAKER_01 (22:14):
Is it the love letter that changes this
question?
SPEAKER_04 (22:18):
Who says romance is dead?
SPEAKER_01 (22:21):
I feel like the ink probably is not compostable.
SPEAKER_04 (22:27):
Come on, Maddie.
Anyone else?
SPEAKER_00 (22:29):
I think I agree.
I mean, I'm sure it would bemarginal.
And I don't know if it'd betraceable, the ink, but the ink
itself, I feel like is notcompostable.
SPEAKER_02 (22:40):
And
SPEAKER_04 (22:41):
Scott's just going to copy
SPEAKER_02 (22:42):
your answers.
I'm just going to, yeah.
SPEAKER_04 (22:43):
I'm just going to throw it in the compost and hope
for the best.
SPEAKER_02 (22:45):
Compost, banana peel is organic.
The ink might be a tiny issue,but largely compostable.
Oh.
So extra point.
SPEAKER_04 (22:55):
Yeah.
Maddie with
SPEAKER_02 (22:56):
the extra.
Maddie, I'll do this one to you.
How about your co-host bad punfrom last week's episode?
SPEAKER_00 (23:04):
Well, I guess it depends on how rancid it was.
SPEAKER_02 (23:11):
Scott, any insight on that
SPEAKER_04 (23:12):
one?
I'm going to say recyclablebecause you can always recycle
SPEAKER_02 (23:15):
a bed.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah.
This is another tricky one.
You guys can work as a team oryou very smart ladies will know
it right off the bat.
A fossilized dinosaur bone.
Interesting.
Intrigue.
Yeah, dead silence.
SPEAKER_01 (23:31):
I don't know enough about fossils, but I would say
compostable because it'sprobably organic materials.
If
SPEAKER_00 (23:37):
it's fossilized, I think that...
It's a rock at that point, so Idon't know that it would break
down, but it is technically anorganic material.
SPEAKER_02 (23:43):
I mean, we are so good at teamwork here at Craig.
Right.
Bust.
While organic once, it's nowmineralized, and it's a rock.
Clever girl.
Great job.
Clever girl.
I got four more, and we'll gorapid fire.
Okay.
With no explanation.
You can just say it.
A slice of pizza that has beenteleported from another
(24:04):
dimension...
Well, the dimension part throws
SPEAKER_04 (24:07):
me, but it's got to be a no, right?
I mean, it is combustible.
Yeah, compost.
SPEAKER_02 (24:09):
Compost.
I don't want to eat that pizza.
Compost, as long as it doesn'thave any alien goo or anything
like that on it.
Instruction manual for a timemachine.
Instruction manual?
Instruction manual for a timemachine.
SPEAKER_00 (24:25):
If it's printed on the appropriate paper, then yes.
SPEAKER_02 (24:27):
That's
SPEAKER_04 (24:28):
what I was
SPEAKER_02 (24:28):
going to say.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (24:30):
Yeah, depends on the paper.
SPEAKER_02 (24:32):
Paper, yes, but likely has inks and chemicals.
SPEAKER_01 (24:35):
I don't want to make this feel complicated.
SPEAKER_02 (24:38):
Leftover coffee grounds from making this game
from brainstorming session lastnight.
SPEAKER_00 (24:43):
Compostable.
Compost.
SPEAKER_04 (24:45):
Perfect.
It's still warm, but compost,yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (24:47):
And I was too lazy to shave, so a beard hair from a
very wise wizard who happens tofrequent the Craig campus.
Beard hair.
SPEAKER_04 (24:58):
Oh, the look that Maddie just gave.
SPEAKER_01 (25:01):
We're looking for the catch.
The hair, yes.
The wizard part.
SPEAKER_04 (25:06):
Wizard part, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (25:07):
Sure.
SPEAKER_04 (25:08):
I'll stick with compost.
It's a very wise wizard.
Very
SPEAKER_00 (25:11):
wise.
Maybe it's going to make thecompost magically have no
contamination from his magic.
So yes,
SPEAKER_02 (25:17):
compostable.
Compost.
Yeah.
Hair is organic.
As long as it's not, it says,but make sure it's not too long
and tangled.
I have nothing else.
I'm going to stop talking.
SPEAKER_04 (25:32):
Well, that's going to do it for us.
Maddie, Steph, thank you forjoining us and tune in next time
when we show you combustiblesAccurate.
UNKNOWN (25:39):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (25:40):
Thanks.
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