Roommate Patrick Robinson stands on the tree shortly after it fell in the mid-February storm, gusts reached 85 mph

Roommate Patrick Robinson helping to core the rotten pieces of the fallen tree to make way for other rotten debris  

Roommate Chris Mayo-Smith digs rotten material, it was no surprise the tree fell with this much rot

Tree section ready for transportation and bin construction

Bin construction begins

Bin construction completed, the bark and stones can move as the compost pile grows

Sample of compost, includes sweet potatoes, orange peels, onion skins, green peppers, coffee grinds and filter, egg shells and other food scraps. 

Question: Can a Pile of Rotten Food Transform My Perception of Impact?

To investigate this question, I first need to define a few terms.

Definitions:
"Pile of Rotten Food": to be more specific, a hollowed out stump from a fallen tree, the bark from said tree, and some rocks previously strewn around the yard will form the "compost bin." All food waste from the two kitchens at 322 Cache La Poudre St. and [hopefully] some of the food waste from the one kitchen in 326 Cache La Poudre St will be placed in the "compost bin" to decompose with leaves and grass from the yard. For clarification, the house located at 322 Cache La Poudre has two kitchens, hereafter referred to as "the North Kitchen" and "the South Kitchen."

"Perception of Impact":by using this language, the investigation hopes to judge whether the act of building a bin, collecting food from all three kitchens, and depositing it can provide personal insights into my relationship with waste, and even our relationship with our environment as a whole. Although I am participating in a group project, with my two roommates who are all contributing waste and effort to the project, I will answer the following questions from my personal experience:

-Is the level of waste surprising?
-Are the types of waste, or ratios of certain types we produce, surprising?
-When composting, do I find that I am compelled to deposit more, less, or the same amount of food waste?
-Do the advantages of composting outweigh its disadvantages?
-What does my composting experience challenge or reinforce from the readings and discussion?
-Does composting make me re-evaluate other environmental commitments I have made, or ones that I might make in the future?

Notes on the Procedure:
VERY little research has been done as to the best practices of composting before this experiment. Other than meat and oily foods, we are placing ALL solid food waste into the bin, and mixing it with some grass and leaves in hopes of deterring animal raids. I hope we can learn as we go if there are other concerns that might come up, but I believe it will be more interesting to figure it out as we go rather than looking for advice on the internet. However, we run the risk of having something go terribly wrong--I guess that is a risk I am willing to take.

Update Number One: Sunday, February 23rd, 2014.

We constructed our compost bin (see pictures) this weekend and have begun placing food waste from the South Kitchen into the bin. So far, it has been surprisingly easy to collect the food in a large bowl that we bring outside a few times a day. This could even be a better system than the composting system at my parents' house, in which a closed metal container is taken out much more infrequently and may be significantly smellier. At this point, there are no visible signs of animals marauding around the bin, stealing its contents, or disrupting its structural integrity. Hopefully this will continue. It is too early to have much insight into the questions posed above, or their relevancy to coursework thus far. I look forward to reflecting on these questions in future posts.