It has been almost a year since the Closed Loop started– one year of composting all of my food waste. I have got to say, the transition was not that difficult. I should start weighing the amount of compost I collect every week, it would be interesting to see how many pounds of food waste is composted in one year.

The photo above is what the compost bin looks like in my apartment in Atlanta. Somehow it always morphs into a smiley face… basically, we collect the food in a bin that is [unfortunately] lined with plastic bags. It is the easiest way to transport the compost to my roommmate’s house in rural Georgia. We are hopefully going to switch to biodegradable plastic bags soon. The Georgia Tech campus dining halls compost all their food waste — but they are hesitant to let students compost their food waste there as well.

Mr. McQuire: Ben, I just want to say one word to you, just one word…

Ben: Yes, sir.

Mr. McQuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes, I am.

Mr. McQuire: Plastics.

Ben: Exactly how do you mean?

Mr. McQuire: There is a great future in plastics. Think about it. Will you think about it?

Okay, plastics are here! Now what?