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  Mandalay cracks down on plastic bags

  July 23, 2009 at 3:16 pm

  Orion Martin '11 writes again, and this time discusses plastic-related policy in Burma, Australia, and Bangladesh. If recycling alone isn't a long-term solution to over-consumption of plastic, what is being done to encourage people to cut back?

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  The Case for Trayless

  March 1, 2009 at 11:54 pm

  (Note: John Kraus has updated his February article about Trayless Dining at Carleton, and the updated version has been reposted here.)

  According to Food for Thought (A Carleton student group), the Carleton dining halls produce about 2,700 pounds of food waste per day.  Colleges, in an attempt to reduce waste and save money, have experimented with various ways to reduce food waste.  Going to tray-less dining has generally shown a reduction in food waste of 25-30%; Hamline College recently implemented this step and expects to save $25,000 a year.  In the following article John Kraus ('10) outlines a well researched case for trayless dining at Carleton.

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• Need Help? Consult Earth 911

  April 8, 2008 at 3:54 pm

  Are your dead cell phones collecting dust in a spare drawer?   Looking for a company to recycle to your batteries? Despair no longer.  A website called Earth 911 will provide you with the names, addresses, phone numbers and directions to your local recycling provider for specialty items such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and computers.  Earth 911 is the largest online clearinghouse of recycling information in the United States and Canada.  It is currently trying to expand its coverage to Europe.  Having spent several frustrated nights doing blind internet searches in Northfield, MN for CFL recycling locations, I came across Earth 911. Simply type in “CFL” or “batteries” and your zipcode, or city and state and choose the nearest location!

  If you find that there is no place in your community that recycles your item, I have a few suggestions for you.  See whether the vender will process the old product, check with your municipal government, contact your trash collection company, or work to get larger companies such as Target or K-Mart which sell the product to provide the recycling service for the local community. 

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• Goodhue Composts!

  April 7, 2008 at 11:33 am

  As of Monday, April 7th, the dorm across the lakes will be embarking on a student-run pilot composting project, with the idea of possibly expanding the compost program throughout all of the residential halls on campus. Each floor in Goodhue has a compost receptacle in the middle of the floor hall near the trash and recycling bins. Students are encouraged to separate all food waste, paper, light cardboard and snack bar compostable packaging in the designated bin. Student volunteers on each floor will be disposing of the compost in a communal bin behind the dorm.

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• Carleton to expand compost program

  February 29, 2008 at 1:00 pm

  A new and exciting composting projects is currently in the works on campus and will be up and running this spring.  Catering services will begin new composting programs when students return from spring break this year.  Sustainability Assistants met with Joe Winegardner, the General Manager of Dining Services several weeks ago to pitch the plan.  Joe eagerly agreed to train staff and obtain the proper bins in order to make composting happen.  As a result, all food waste generated at catered events will be composted and event organizers will be encouraged to select compostable plastic-ware, napkins, and plates that will also be sent out to the compost piles in Rosemount. 

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  Plastic bags are not a girl's best friend (but they do last almost forever)

  February 28, 2008 at 10:28 am

  For my Buddhism and Ecology class at Carleton, I recently went on a field trip to see the Rice County Solid Waste Facility. The facility, which consists of a landfill, recycling center, and hazardous waste center, is where Carleton ships all of its leftovers once compost and recyclables are removed. In the spirit of understanding the consequences of our actions, we headed out in vans to see for ourselves where our trash is kept. The facility sits on 320-340 acres of land located next to the Cannon Valley Wilderness Area near Faribault, MN. The large mounds of uncapped trash attract lots of wildlife including eagles, turkey buzzards, deer, coyotes, and hawks. Because decomposition in a landfill is so slow, there are always items of food for animals to pick over at the site. To give us a sense of the timescale for decomposition, an employee showed us newspaper clippings from the 1970s which had been pulled out of one of the trash cells. Despite having been in the landfill for almost 40 years, the newspaper was in mint condition, only slightly yellow in color. Newspapers are a good indicator of how fast trash items are breaking down because they decompose more rapidly than most trash items, especially plastics.

  As we sat and watched large bulldozers crush the trash to reduce air space, we discussed the challenges they encounter at the facility in processing Carleton’s trash. I was surprised to hear the response.

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• Weighing in on Waste

  January 24, 2008 at 9:56 am

  Responsible waste management programs are especially important when one considers the volume of waste generated by a residential college of Carleton’s size during a month of school. In October, Carleton college produced approximately 60 tons of recyclables, compostables, and trash in total, all of which would be destined for a landfill had Carleton not invested in composting and recycling.

  Promising Numbers
  The new waste management improvements including one-stream recycling and campus-wide composting made by Carleton College during the summer of 2007 have proven successful. According to recent data collected by Carleton College Facilities Department, Carleton diverted 56 percent of its waste stream from the landfill in the month of October alone. This estimate is even larger if one considers the amount of waste generated by students who live in off-campus or college-owned houses who compost. In the fall, 100 students (approximately half of the student body) living in privately-owned houses in Northfield were given supplies of biodegradable bags from the Facilities Department in order to use in their homes. The weigh data does not include their contribution because they use separate compost receptacles.

  Continued Improvement and Expansion
  Weigh data from the month of October shows a small, yet significant improvement from recycling and composting efforts during the month of September in which only 52% of Carleton’s waste stream was diverted. It is important to note, however, that recycling data from September is skewed by a large influx of cardboard generated by students moving back to campus in the fall. Continued improvement is to be expected as current students, faculty and staff learn to navigate a seemingly complex new sorting system. Participation may be enhanced further by a first-year orientation program which highlights sustainability efforts at Carleton and educates new members of the community on how to properly dispose of their waste. This orientation program is currently under discussion.

  For more information on composting initiatives at Carleton College, contact Karen Lawson (Custodial Services Supervisor), Shaun Sawtell (President of SOPE and Compost Task-Force Leader), or Laura Oxtoby, Ben Barclay, and Becky Dernbach (Sustainability Assistants).
  Graphs taken from Facilities Compost Report (prepared Jan. 10, 2008) .

   

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• ITS recycles more than 10 tons of computer equipment

  January 2, 2008 at 10:48 am

  (Via Carleton News)

   With so much focus on recycling items like paper, aluminum, and plastics, we often fail to consider the end-use fate of more complicated technology like computer equipment. Computers and other electronics often contain materials that are harmful to the environment if allowed to leach out through improper disposal of the equipment. Combine that fact with the rate at which this type of technology becomes obsolete and the potential for serious environmental damage arises. To help prevent such improper disposal, Carleton's Informational Technology Services (ITS) department recently organized an event to help the college and the Northfield community find a home for obsolete computer equipment.

  In coordination with Material Processing Corporation (MPC), Carleton gathered 20,482 lbs. of used computer equipment, which will be processed and recycled through MPC's facility in Eagan.  According to Sue Traxler, the organizer of the event, plans are tentatively being made for another recycling day in the Spring. To read the whole story, click here.
  

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  Managing our Waste Stream

  November 5, 2007 at 8:17 am

  People rarely think of rainwater as an environmental problem unless it is somehow related to climate change and new precipitation patterns. However, stormwater runoff is responsible for heavily polluted water bodies, flooding, and thermal pollution of sensitive waters. These consequences can have larger impacts on the integrity of natural resources and their ability to provide habitat for wildlife. Consequently, U.S. law requires that non-point source water pollution be regulated through the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Maintaining the integrity of the watershed is Carleton's responsibility given the water quality regulations that exist.

  At Carleton, stormwater pipes conduct water from buildings, parking lots, and concrete sidewalks into a small group of water bodies, including the Cannon River, Spring Creek, Lyman Lakes, and a couple stormwater retention ponds located on or near campus. As Carleton moves forward with its campus expansion plans (the Arts Center and the new dormitory) storm water management becomes increasingly important. How will the college handle increased runoff associated with new impermeable surfaces? How will we maintain the integrity of water in our local watershed? Fortunately, there are ways to deal with stormwater runoff. Green roofs and permeable pavement are two green designs that increase natural drainage and filtration, reducing the impact of large inputs of stormwater.

  Continue by clicking the "read more" link below

  
  

  
  
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  Carleton Expands Compost Program

  October 29, 2007 at 8:53 am

  This week, the Carleton Facilities Department provided biodegradable bags to more than 100 students living off-board in Northfield, ensuring that the entire Carleton College campus can now compost. Students living in Northfield ("Northfield Option Students") stopped by the Sayles Campus Center Monday through Wednesday to pick up a box of compostable bags for their respective houses. Approximately 50 houses in Northfield received boxes. Students will fill their bags at home and bring the bags to campus to drop in compost bins located around campus. These bins are currently set up for Interest Houses, but will be now be available to a wider range of students. SOPE (Students Organized to Protect the Environment) maintains these bins every few weeks by turning the piles and adding leaves. When these bins are full, Facilities carts the waste to a larger pile located by a Facilities warehouse. The compost generated here is then used by Facilities for landscaping projects, among other things.

  This system, although effective, will not be in use for long. Carleton College recently received a grant for $10,000 to purchase an Earth Tub, a large compost tub, to replace the Facilities pile. The tub will be located on sight and serve as an educational tool for the college and surrounding community. It is expected to arrive by the end of the Academic year at the latest.

  
  
  
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