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Description of Issue:
The University of South Carolina has a set goal to become a Zero Waste Campus
by the year 2050 (Bounds, 2015). Zero Waste means, designing and managing products
and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and
materials, conserve and recover all resources (Liss, 2009). Overall the goal is to create
account for 17% of total campus waste being recycled each year. The goal is to have a
recycling rate of 50% by 2025 which gives the university 9 years to increase the rate by
33%. In order to approach the campus goal changes will need to be made, and a
The average American has a carbon footprint of 20 metric tons. This being said, if
everyone in the world were to have a footprint of this size, we would need 4 earths in
order to support these habits (Bounds, 2015). With 2,968 4-year universities in America
for contributing to the increase in sustainable practices in order to help sustain the planet
for future generations. By reducing the amount of waste thrown into landfills humans
have the ability to reduce the amount of methane gas and leachate released into the
plant growth. It helps reduce the amount of money spent on soil purchases which are
often used for campus landscaping and gardening. It also benefits campuses by reducing
the amount of money spent on transportation of waste, whereas with community compost
Dining Halls, Greek Housing, and even throughout Academic Buildings on campus. Ohio
University recently invested in an in-vessel composting system which has the capability
Washington has also made strides towards composting, reducing their carbon footprint
(McClure, 2016).
The University of South Carolina (USC) could benefit from following in these
other universities footsteps. Recently the University received the Silver rating from the
Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS). While the university scored well in
the academics and engagement pieces, the scores left plenty of room for
innovation, the university has plenty of room for improvement. Specifically under the
operations category USC scored 4.28 out of 10 on the waste subcategory. This poor
outcome emphasizes the importance of establishing a composting program on campus.
As president Harris Pastides wrote in a letter to the AASHE STARS committee earlier
this year, While we have come a long way in addressing campus sustainability, there is
in the Residence Halls. Many of the residence hall, such as Honors, South Quad,
and Green Quad, have student accessible kitchens in which student produce
Resources Needed: For the early stages each apartment style kitchen could be
given a mini 2.4 gallon composting bin that could be emptied every two weeks or
as it fills up. These bins cost about $16 individually, but could be found for a
cheaper price when ordered in bulk. Community kitchens, such as the ones in the
Honors Residence Hall could be supplied with 60 gallon compost tumblers which
cost about $150 individually, but could also be found at cheaper prices when
given the task of picking up these containers along with the trash and the
recycling and bringing it to large Bosmere Wire Composting Bin. These bins can
hold about 225 gallons of compost and only cost about $50. These composting
bins must be used outside and can be placed in the area behind the Green House at
Green Quad.
There are approximately 25 residence halls on campus. Overall the costs to supply
the composters plus the would be about $2,500 including the Bosmere Wire
charge of emptying and cleaning the composting bins along with educating
students in the residence halls how to properly utilize the bins. As the program
just begins, the EcoReps program could be charged with creating and running this
student group, seeing as this organization already has a passion for sustainability
Pros: If students were given the resources to compost their food waste they would
be able to learn sustainable practices and reduce their amount of waste. Taking the
first step towards adding composting practices to the USC campus through the
residence halls would help increase the AASHE STARS score for next year and
help the University come closer to reaching its Zero Waste goals.
Cons: Unfortunately change costs money. The initial purchasing of the bins along
with the time spent on marketing and teaching both staff and students instructions
on how to use the composters would take some time and money. This money
would have to come from another place in the budget. Fortunately with
student $1 extra for their housing fees, therefore creating a large budget for
composting practices.
Works Cited
Pastides, Harris. Letter to AASHE STARS Review Committee. Feb. 2016. MS.
Columbia, SC
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2015). Digest of