As this is an educational institution, one of its goals is to use the new facility as a learning tool. Classes from all over the College, including those in the new environmental studies major, have been using the old composting facility. Biology professors Maya Patel and Susan Swensen have taken students in to study the relation between temperature and insect life in com- post. Even Cornell University graduate students have used the facility for research.

"Every year I speak at three or four conferences about what we do here, and I can’t keep track of the people who contact me over the Internet or call asking questions, wanting to get programs like this started at their institutions," Darling says. Last year many groups visited the compost facility, including students, staff, and faculty from Cornell, Colgate, Penn State, and other universities and colleges; students from the Alternative Community School; and members of various community "greening" groups.

People occasionally found the compost aroma a little strong. Couture points out that the new building is completely enclosed, and the ASP system is particularly good for managing odors. The concrete pads outside, on which the compost will be cured, can be cleaned easily. And visitors can tour the facility from a heated, accessible room with windows onto the composting process.

"This building," says Darling, "shows that Ithaca College is taking responsibility for its own waste. We can dedicate space on the planet to bury our garbage. But if 25 percent of it is actually a nutrient source and is reusable as a soil, why would you just bury it? Our program saves money, but it also makes ecological sense."