Composting Comes to Freeman Dining Hall

Beginning in February 2026, Montclair State University began utilizing the services of Java’s Compost, LLC to haul away and compost kitchen scraps from Freeman Dining Hall. This is a collaborative effort between the Office of Sustainability, the Office of Auxiliary Services, and Gourmet Dining and contributes directly to the Facilities Sustainability Plan Goal 02-2: Increase waste diversion from landfill.

What are we actually doing?

The staff in Freeman Dining Hall will be collecting the scraps from food preparation (peels, pits, etc.) and putting them into specially labeled containers. These containers will be picked up twice a week by Java’s Compost and transported to a composting facility managed by Ag Choice in Andover, NJ.

Part of this service includes an annual “compost giveback” where Java’s Compost will provide Montclair with a 64-gallon container of compost that will be used in the Montclair Campus Community Garden. Using the compost from our kitchen waste to grow produce which is donated to the Red Hawk Pantry is a huge step towards circularity on campus!

Additionally, Java’s Compost will track the amount of food waste composted and how that translates to emissions avoided. Based on our initial estimations, this composting service will help the university reduce the amount of waste sent to the landfill by over 50,000 lbs or 23 tons annually. This translates to roughly 16 metric tons of CO₂e emissions avoided each year.

We are beyond excited to partner with Montclair State University to bring a composting program to campus. We thank everyone at the University who have been involved in spearheading this food waste recycling initiative and we are eager to get started. – Michelle Bradley, Founder/Owner, Java’s Compost

Why choose Freeman?

Freeman Dining Hall is the ideal location to begin our composting program because the staff working on food preparation in the Freeman kitchen are already separating scraps to be weighed before disposal. This means that they simply need to dispose of the scraps in a different container after weighing them. Additionally, Freeman operates on a smaller scale than some of the other dining locations on campus. It’s a great opportunity to start small and make sure it’s working well before we try to expand the service to other dining locations.

Gourmet Dining is thrilled to be the first University to partner with Java’s Compost on this innovative pilot program. Our team at Montclair State University is always looking for meaningful ways to reduce our environmental impact, and this initiative gives us a hands-on opportunity to lead by example. We’re excited to explore how this new composting solution can strengthen our sustainability efforts and create long-term benefits for the campus community. – Brian Conway, Gourmet Dining

Have Questions?

Reach out to us at sustainability@montclair.edu or follow us @montclair_sustainability