Did you know that the UM Compost Team has provided almost 5 cubic yards of compost to the UM Garden on campus? Members of the UM Garden Club use the nutrient-rich compost to grow food for the Ole Miss Food Bank.

Ole Miss students composted 13 tons of food waste from Rebel Market, the Grill at 1810 and the Marketplace at the Residential Colleges during 2015.

Food in a landfill emits methane gas—a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent that carbon dioxide. In a compost pile, food decomposes naturally and without emitting methane, greatly reducing environmental pollution.

Did you know that 40 percent of food waste in America is thrown away? While composting is a better alternative to landfilling, the best option is to plate thoughtfully and be careful to take only as much as you can eat.

In just one day, diners in Rebel Market throw away enough food to feed 60 people comfortably for a month.

Thanks to Ole Miss Dining staff members who collect the food to be composted as they prepare meals throughout the day, students were able to compost 99 percent of all food collected during the 2014-15 school year.

Diners at Rebel Market throw away an average of 414 pounds of food per day. This is enough food to feed one student for 3.5 years—almost the entirety of his or her college career!

When the UM Compost Project expanded to Rebel Market in Fall 2014, the amount of food waste they took on increased by 1,030 percent!