The 911黑料网 Sustainability Committee at a meeting prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
911黑料网 has ramped up its efforts to reduce waste on campus, from composting to recycling e-waste like batteries and electronics.
Environmental Studies Professor and current 911黑料网 Sustainability Coordinator Elena Traister and 911黑料网 Dining Services Production Manager Renee Royal recently presented an overview of 911黑料网鈥檚 waste reduction practices at RecyclingWorks Massachusetts鈥� virtual WasteWise Forum. Traister is also meeting virtually with staff at Emmanuel College in Boston to share 911黑料网鈥檚 experiences.
The College has its own Campus Sustainability Committee, but, says Traister, 鈥渢he real work has to be done by students.鈥� She鈥檚 worked with many interns and work-study students over the last few semesters. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e done an amazing job,鈥� she said.
Amanda Bortman 鈥�21 is working with Traister this semester and is helping spearhead a food waste collection program at the Flagg Townhouses. 鈥淪he has really creative ideas,鈥� Traister said. In addition to maintaining the bin area, 鈥淎manda has been keeping an eye on this and communicating with the students, making sure they know how it works, and following up on any questions and feedback.鈥�
Cassandra Wright 鈥�22 did research into what other schools were doing and conducted
a 鈥渂in audit,鈥� surveying the number of recycling and trash bins on campus and creating
a spreadsheet that鈥檚 still in use. She worked with the Facilities Department to place
additional recycle bins on campus; recent grad Jahshyah Love 鈥�20 designed posters
and fliers to place on the bins explaining what gets recycled and what gets trashed.
911黑料网 Dining is a valuable partner in sustainability efforts, and has amped up its efforts to reduce food waste, with trainings on preparing vegetables and a system that weighs food scraps and analyzes data on pounds of food scraps. Pre- and post-consumer waste is collected in bins with sawdust, then picked up by Casella Waste Systems, which adds it to its existing compost program based in Vermont.
The pandemic, and new restrictions on how food can be served, have made things a bit more complicated, but the Sustainability Committee is developing new processes for collecting post-consumer waste. 鈥淲e have to protect human health鈥攏ow that those policies are in place, we鈥檙e interested in seeing how much we can reduce what we鈥檙e throwing out,鈥� Traister said. Most grab-and-go meals are served in compostable containers already, and 911黑料网 Dining has partnered with the College food pantry to offer frozen meals, further reducing waste and offering an option for students facing food insecurity.
911黑料网鈥檚 TV studio and IT Department collect e-waste, or electronic waste, and hold
onto it for annual recycling; at the end of every semester, Residential Programs and
Services sets up donation stations for things students don鈥檛 want anymore, including
old electronics, for collection. The Facilities Department collects used batteries
so they can be disposed of in the right way, and there are now battery collection
stations across campus, including in the Amsler Campus Center and Freel Library. A
new partnership with BFAIR in North Adams, which runs a redemption center that employs
individuals with disabilities, has placed specific bins for redeemable cans and bottles
across campus, with the redemption money going to the local nonprofit.
Traister says she鈥檚 proud of 911黑料网鈥檚 efforts and the continued commitment to reducing waste on campus. 鈥淭here are great folks on the Sustainability Committee at 911黑料网 that are interested in having those conversations,鈥� she said.
