Along with a goal to be carbon neutral by 2040, Utah State University is racing to zero waste this semester.<\/p>\n
Campus Race to Zero Waste is a collegiate sustainability competition measuring the waste generated on college campuses across the country.<\/p>\n
Maggie Eguko, marketing and community outreach director for USU Sustainability, said USU has participated in the competition since 2018.<\/p>\n
During the competition, which started on Jan. 28 and runs until March 19, the sustainability office submits a weekly report of how much waste the campus has generated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually weigh all of our waste here on campus, so we know the exact amount of tons that we have in waste on any given week,\u201d Eguko said.<\/p>\n
One competition category measures waste diversion, or how much material is recycled instead of trashed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single week, we report how much of that is recycled, and whichever campus is the highest increase in recycled material receives national recognition and a bunch of other benefits in grants and money,\u201d Eguko said.<\/p>\n
According to the facilities website, USU currently recycles around 26% of its solid waste stream.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were to jump that to 50, or even 60%, for just these eight weeks, we\u2019d be in the top fifth percentile for this competition,\u201d Eguko said.<\/p>\n
USU is the only university in Utah registered for the competition, but several universities in the Mountain West Conference are participating: California State Fresno, Colorado State, University of Nevada-Las Vegas and Wyoming.<\/p>\n
Current standings in the challenge are public and can be viewed at campusracetozerowaste.org\/scoreboard\/current-results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re on campus, make sure you\u2019re aware of the waste that you\u2019re creating,\u201d Eguko said. \u201cIt\u2019s really important to make sure that as many people as possible understand what\u2019s happening that way. Even if it\u2019s only for eight weeks in the year, they\u2019re looking at their bottles and figuring out whether it\u2019s recyclable or not.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the competition goes on, the sustainability office will be hosting events and Snacktivities to inform and encourage students to have more sustainable habits.<\/p>\n
On Feb. 8, in conjunction with the annual Sweater Swap, free soup was served with sustainable bowls and spoons.<\/p>\n
Vegan Recipes and Collages night, an activity focused on reducing food waste, will be held on Feb. 27.<\/p>\n
In partnership with True Blue Reuse and the Christensen Office for Social Action and Sustainability, the sustainability office will hold a book swap on March 6 to decrease paper waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery person who brings a book, gets a book,\u201d Eguko said.<\/p>\n
Along with waste diversion, the competition also has a few special categories. One of these is Game Day Basketball, a one-day challenge measuring the waste diversion from a single basketball game.<\/p>\n
To promote the challenge, Eguko said the sustainability office will be hosting a sustainability tailgate in partnership with the HURD before the men\u2019s basketball game versus Air Force on March 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have fun games \u2014 sustainability themed, we\u2019ll have sustainable foods. We\u2019ll be using recyclable materials,\u201d Eguko said.<\/p>\n
Caitlin McLennan, sustainability program manager, said one of the engagement activities at the game, called Trash Talking, is designed to help fans think more about their waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe staff each waste place, like each trashcan, and we co-locate it with a recycling bin during the activity,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cWe place volunteers throughout the stadium right on top so that way when guests come and they throw whatever they have into a receptacle, we can stop them and say \u2018No, actually, that\u2019s recyclable. This is the area where you put that.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Eguko said there will also be announcements during the game to remind fans to recycle their waste, which will be weighed after the game and reported to the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good way to, you know, intervene in fan behavior and get people thinking about where their waste goes,\u201d McLennan said.<\/p>\n
The competition also has a category for food organics. McLennan said USU processes pre-consumer organics in a large greenhouse airflow composter called The Pit. The waste is turned by a large auger, and the whole process takes about six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can only process veggie scraps, fruit scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells \u2014 anything that is not a meat product or dairy and doesn\u2019t have a ton of oil,\u201d McLennan said.<\/p>\n
USU Landscape Operations and Maintenance then uses the compost, along with other green waste from pruning, trimming and mowing, for fertilization around campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cShane (Richards) is our LOAM manager, and he is very, very proud of our circular landscape system,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cIt\u2019s like 95% there, and we are working and interested in actively having conversations about expanding our compost program.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLennan said although there aren\u2019t currently \u201cdiversion receptacles,\u201d or recycling bins, in USU\u2019s athletic spaces, it\u2019s something she\u2019s actively working on.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t blame fans for not participating in a recycling program if you don\u2019t set the table,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cYou have to have the infrastructure in place before any sort of measurement needs to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLennan said USU President Betsy Cantwell recently moved her position as program manager from facilities to the Office of the President \u201cto try and integrate sustainability more holistically throughout the university.\u201d<\/p>\n
The campus recycling team, which is staffed by two to four students each semester, monitors the bins around campus and sorts the collected materials. If students see overflowing bins, they can contact the team by calling (435) 797-2011.<\/p>\n
McLennan said USU only recycles #1 and #2 plastics, which includes soda and water bottles, milk jugs and shampoo bottles. They also recycle cardboard, paper and aluminum.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a village,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cI totally understand where people will be confused and we\u2019d have high contamination rates, because it\u2019s different everywhere you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
To help reduce contamination in campus recycling bins and help the recycling team, McLennan said students should break down their cardboard, avoid recycling containers with a lot of food residue in them and double check the plastics number.<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck before you chuck,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cWhen in doubt, throw it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
A chart of which materials USU recycling accepts and how to correctly recycle or dispose of them can be found at usu.edu\/facilities\/recycling\/recyclables.<\/p>\n
Beyond the competition, McLennan encourages students to get involved with sustainability in whatever way interests them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever it makes sense to you to participate in climate action is the way that I tell people to get involved \u2014 if that\u2019s voting or organizing or getting involved with SOSNR (Student Organization for Society and Natural Resources) or the sustainability club,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cIf you can get a sustainability course under your belt, try and understand how complex the problem is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eguko said although students may find it hard to put forth effort into a place they are only living in for a short amount of time, sustainability and climate action matter all over the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cSustainable efforts are something that affect everyone worldwide, not just little Logan,\u201d Eguko said. \u201cSo even if you\u2019re not staying here longer than six months, that waste that you contribute, those carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide emissions that you put out, they\u2019re still going into the same atmosphere that you breathe when you go home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ultimately, McLennan said when it comes to climate action, organizations have more obligation to act than individuals do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not your responsibility to do anything,\u201d McLennan said. \u201cIt\u2019s an organization\u2019s responsibility to decide that\u2019s their prerogative, right \u2014 that that\u2019s something that they\u2019re interested in investing in and will make a priority for the whole institution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Along with a goal to be carbon neutral by 2040, Utah State University is racing to zero waste this semester.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":889840,"featured_media":22128272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,19],"tags":[571,15888,15405,850,1159,3626,595],"class_list":["post-22128271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-news","tag-basketball","tag-campus-race-to-zero-waste","tag-campus-sustainability","tag-competition","tag-recycling","tag-student-sustainability-office","tag-sustainability"],"yoast_head":"\n