Lafayette College CASE STUDY

Based in Easton, PA Lafayette College was established in 1826 to be an environment that fosters the free exchange of ideas, to nurture the inquiring mind and to integrate intellectual, social, and personal growth. With sustainability as one of Lafayette’s three core institutional values, and an administration that has committed to taking action, it came as no surprise that Lafayette decided to launch a campus-wide food waste composting program in the fall of 2023. As part of the circular economy and zero waste sustainability theme at the College, two key goals of the composting program were to eliminate the environmental impact and financial cost of hauling waste to landfills and create valuable compost to enrich soils at “LaFarm,” the on-campus farm. Lafayette sought an on campus in-vessel composting solution that would transform food scraps into compost with minimal odors and processing time.

Lafayette College partnered with GMT to commission a custom 20’ Intermodal Earth Flow composting system. Capable of processing up to 30,000 pounds of compostable materials monthly, the Earth Flow in vessel composter anchors Lafayette's food waste diversion efforts. The process begins with the collection and transportation of food scraps from campus dining halls. Materials are loaded into the Earth Flow, managed primarily by a dedicated team of 10 Office of Sustainability student-interns. Food scraps are collected daily from multiple campus locations and transported using an electric vehicle. After approximately three weeks in the vessel, the organic waste is transformed into nutrient-rich compost. This sustainable solution aligns with Lafayette's circular economy principles and enriches "LaFarm's" soil with valuable compost to grow even healthier crops.