Official Composting Program has Arrived!
By Redmond Naval
There’s something new at the University of Waterloo. Have you seen it? No, it’s not the SLC expansion which is far from completion. It’s not the hundreds of first-years and transfer students joining the UW community. It’s not even the new vegetarian eatery in AHS, Frsh.
It’s the University’s new waste disposal system, which now includes …
*drumroll *
COMPOST!!!
Back in 2014, Campus Compost began with a group of students and the simple mission of helping to reduce the University’s landfill waste by providing a much needed and desired composting service. What began with a single composting drum and a handful of locations, is now 2 drums, named Ben and Jerry, and 35 serviceable locations. In 2017 alone, we diverted over 1800 kg of organic waste from landfills, which was then turned into compost to nourish the gardens around EV3 and the greater Waterloo community.
While we are very proud of how Campus Compost has grown, as a student-run service we have always been marred with various limitations. Unable to operate during the Winter term or exams, with a majority of our bins hidden away in staff offices, and our success living or dying on how many volunteers we receive in a given term, we could never become the comprehensive program that the University needed. Yet, that never stopped us from diverting what we could, and showing the University that yes, students want to compost!
Now the day has finally arrived and it is B-E-A-utiful!
Campus Compost isn’t going anywhere, and we will not only continue to process what organic waste we collect, but also raise awareness on various issues such as food waste, plastic waste, and zero waste.
The University is adopting a new waste disposal system that will hopefully make sorting your waste a lot simpler.
Soon the days of hunting for the right blue bin will be over and you’ll be able to dispose of everything in one convenient location. In most Food Service locations, there will be the 4 stream system which will include Organics (Garbage, Containers, and Papers being the other 3). The signs and bins are colour coordinated with labels to help you identify where everything should go. Organics disposal will not be available everywhere, so try being strategic where you eat your lunch for convenient disposal of napkins and food scraps.
If you’re ever confused, just follow the guidelines set out by the city of Waterloo or try out their Waste Whiz site to see where everything should go.
Many people are unaware that highly contaminated recycling or compost is sent straight to the landfill as opposed to their intended facilities.
Some commonly disposed items on campus include:
- Used napkins/tissues/paper towels: These go in “Organics.”
- Coffee cups: Separate the lid from the cup before throwing both in “Containers”, and throw the cardboard sleeve in with “Paper”.
- Plastic straws and utensils: These should be removed from their containers and thrown in the trash.
The key to this new frontier is to sort! Sort!! SORT!!!
Many people are unaware that highly contaminated recycling and compost is sent straight to the landfill as opposed to their intended facilities. Just through the small-scale service we provide, we often find copious amounts of plastic in our bins. Across campus, it’s not hard to find recycling bins not only mixing paper and plastics, but garbage as well. This not only wastes recyclable material, but it is costing municipalities across Canada millions every year.
It is, therefore, of key importance that we all learn to change our habits and put in that extra bit of effort to ensure the success of this new program.
Campus Compost isn’t going anywhere, and we will not only continue to process what organic waste we collect, but also raise awareness on various issues such as food waste, plastic waste, and zero waste.
We will continue to share tips and tricks on how to both properly sort your waste and reduce it overall, and we hope that you will come along for the ride!
