Waste Diversion @ USC - What's Going On With It
I'm passionate about the environment and
how people could get more engaged in protecting it. As a student at USC and
frequent visitor at the Village dining hall, I see a ton of food wasted and it has to make one wonder “how does USC, a school of 19,000 undergrad students, handle its
massive waste and how can its Trojans to get involved?” Are there composting
bins that allow students to get engaged with composting, or what are some
of our university’s waste diversion technologies? Compost bins are a type of waste diversion technology that's used
to make compost and house it once it's made until it can be used in a garden. Most structures are designed to hasten the decomposition of
organic matter through proper aeration and moisture retention.
When I was a sophomore at USC, through
research for a class project, I found that the university houses and manages a composting system and
sustainable garden located at the Parkside Arts and Humanities Residential College. With the mission to view and evaluate the system, I went to Parkside and ended up circling around the dorm buildings, and still I didn't find this elaborate system and garden. Finally, after pulling a
student aside and asking where it was, I was taken to area with a small collection of pots and rows of lettuce and shrubbery in
a wooden box, tucked and hidden away behind a building. These wooden boxes lying to the side of the garden
were the compost bins open to students for use. At the time, I immediately thought to
myself, was this USC’s, an elite institution with a ton of resources and
financial capabilities, best attempt at waste diversion technology?
Currently, USC’s sustainability goals claim that it
diverts 52% of food waste to composting efforts and has the goal of 75% waste
diversion by 2020. As of right now, the University of Southern California’s
Facility Waste Management (FMS) unit is responsible for managing the solid
waste stream at the University Park Campus, Health Sciences Campus, and North
University Park Campus, of USC. They ensure that the university's waste is
taken to the appropriate facilities for proper sorting and recycling. Then waste is source sorted into different categories such as green waste, food waste,
contractors waste, and rubbish with their current diversion rate of 52.41%
(statistics provided by USC Faculty Waste Management). In addition to this, they also bale around 200 tons of cardboard and
500 tons of white paper, mixed paper, and newspaper every year. However, further research shows that many schools gives students access to composting bins and
other waste diversion technologies, without a middleman.
For
example, the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) has an efficient
system that allows students to be get engaged with waste diversion technologies
- something that the USC campus is lacking. UCLA has compost bins located in their
dining halls and around campus, where students and faculty can collectively
contribute by putting scraps and other foods into these bins. According to the
UCLA’s sustainability website, “At all four residential dining halls and
restaurants—De Neve Dining, Bruin Plate, Covel Commons, and FEAST at
Rieber—food scraps from food preparation (e.g. egg shells, vegetable trimmings,
etc.) and the post-consumer waste (food left on plates) are separated from
non-compostable waste and sent to a composting facility from the bins provided.”
(UCLA Sustainability, Zero Waste) These impressive numbers and efforts prove
that USC could better implement more expansive waste-diversion technologies
like more compost bins in dining halls and around campus (currently there are bins in Parkside's dining hall) rather than its limited efforts that exclude two dining halls and its on-campus eatieries. UCLA’s system and success clearly shows that college students and faculty are
not only able to be knowledgeable in this area of environmental impact, but they're also completely capable of making a positive environmental impact. Ultimately, the
University of Southern California’s administrators and leaders should take
advantage of its robust resources to engage its Trojans in waste divergence and
composting technologies as its school rival has proven that this is very much
so possible to achieve.
Works Cited:
"University
of Southern California." Waste Diversion | USC Sustainability. N.p., n.d.
Web. 03 May 2017.
“Zero
Waste.” UCLA Sustainability, www.sustain.ucla.edu/our-initiatives/zero-waste/.
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ReplyDeleteI never really thought about the food waste problem here on campus. I can't believe our campus is handling food sorting and food waste so poorly. I find it very commendable that you've researched our waste management issues and have found a precedent that shows how we can change our system.
ReplyDelete-Ethan
I have also noticed the signs and announcement surrounding the waste bins in dining halls. My question would be to explore the waste generated on football game days. I remember the Coliseum claiming that they lead the pac-12 in recycling and composition, but I would be interested to fact check and see their accuracy.
ReplyDelete-Garrett
I really appreciate your passion for the environment. So many people are careless with their waste and don't even consider their environmental footprint so it's very reassuring to know that there are still those who are taking action.
ReplyDeleteyour passion for protecting the environment and taking the initiative as a member in the USC community is super admirable. I think most people nowadays are very focused on their own life priorities that they overlook their responsibilities as a member living on the planet.
ReplyDelete--- Claire Lin
The inclusion of UCLA was a stroke of genius as it instantly grabs any Trojan's attention and forces them to consider the fact that our rival school is doing a better job than us at something. I'm not a huge advocate of composting personally, but after reading that bit about those nasty bruins upstaging us, I couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment. Furthermore, your research for this post was exceptional, having explored a bit of campus to search for info rather than limiting yourself to the internet.
ReplyDelete-Grant Nunley
Just seeing all the food that is discarded in the dining halls everyday you quickly learn how much waste USC must be generating. I’m impressed that you took it upon yourself to find out about the state of our composting system which is clearly not up to standard.
ReplyDeleteI believe that USC can also create more jobs with more sustainability efforts, especially in composting and perhaps growing more of USC's food on campus.
ReplyDeleteWhat environmental initiative do you think individuals in their own homes can start?
Thanks for shedding light on this issue. I am also a huge environmentalist and have been really disappointed at the lack of effort and care USC has for the environment. There is so much more that they can be doing when it comes to composting and recycling and reusing old materials that students throw away. On a more positive note, I volunteer at a nearby soup kitchen and they told me that a lot of their hot food comes from USC dining halls.
ReplyDelete