Sporting a pumpkin hat and accompanied by loudspeakers and a blasting stereo, last Thursday evening I joined UTM’s Green Team-Linda O’Malley (a.k.a. Dr. Dirt), Evan Ardiel (a.k.a. Kid Compost) and Dave Dvir (a.k.a. Major Mulch)-and banged on campus doors to catch students composting. They were on their third “Get Caught Composting” run of the year, tying in with UTM’s Environment Week celebrations.

When a lucky campus resident is caught composting, we let the siren rip and offer prizes of fresh oranges, apples, or bananas along with “rez points.” Some of those residents caught composting haven’t yet figured out where to empty them, but they still get fruit and prizes, as well as tips on where to empty their full bucket. Kid Compost tells me that “fresh fruit is a real treat for the residences as they don’t get to eat it very often.” He adds, “scurvy can be a problem here.”

Rez points are also a thrill. Students can build up the number of points in order to win a gift certificate for the U of T Bookstore.

Although all of the residences were provided with compost buckets two years ago, most no longer had them. So in November, the Green Team gave out around fifty compost buckets to residents with stickers explaining what could be composted to residents. They encouraged students to fill them with food waste (no meat or bones, though) and dump them in the backyard composters located outside their residences. Currently, the compost is used for landscaping on campus grounds. But the Green Team, says Dr. Dirt, aims to start a community vegetable garden, and nourish it with the compost.

As we wander the halls, Major Mulch tells me that their second round of visits that took place last year yielded an 80 per cent success rate. This time around, however, success is a little lower. We only give fruit to four residences out of the 22 that we visit. Of the 22, nine were not in, seven did not composting but were interested, and only two actually said they simply did not want to compost.

For the most part, everyone is very friendly and interested. Doors open throughout the hallways, giving us a chance to let more residents know about the benefits of composting. “Use an ice cream bucket if you don’t have a compost bucket,” I tell people.

Dr. Dirt said that Get Caught Composting does make a difference as “[it] creates more awareness to what composting is. The more we get it out there, hopefully more students will start doing it.” And, for Aubrey Iwaniw, the Green Team leader, that is their mandate: “Trying to get the word out to students about how to be more environmentally conscious, really sharing what they learned with the campus.”

The Green Team plans on performing one more round before the end of the school year-so fill your buckets, UTM, open your doors, and you may win fresh fruit.