According to a post from Carnegie Mellon’s Student Affairs’ blog, about 30 to 40 percent of the food produced in the United States gets thrown away. It was stated in an article by NPR that The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the typical American family throws out about $1,600 worth of food each year.

The amount of food going to landfills is extreme, but the reality check hits hard after realizing the difference that composting could make. It takes 25 years for a head of lettuce to decompose in a landfill; all the while it is a part of how methane is being released into the environment, furthering the damage of climate change. Whereas, in a compost, a head of lettuce takes only a few weeks to decompose and begin creating new soil.

Springfield Compost Collective

About a year and a half ago, Justine Campbell wanted to start a nonprofit farm as one of the first regenerative agriculture farms in the Ozarks. Now, she is raising awareness and providing alternative trash options to the community with Springfield Compost Collective.

Springfield Compost Collective’s mission is to create awareness about food waste and educate others on diverting food waste from landfills.

“The whole mission is teaching people to stop throwing away their food. We call it mindful waste management, where you’re being conscious of what you’re doing when you get to the
trash can,” Campbell explained.

Four elements of composting

One of the best alternatives to sending food waste to the landfill is composting. How compost works is by having four elements working together to decompose the food waste and begin creating new soil.

“There are four elements that have to exist in the compost world. It is really easy to make them exist because they are already all around you. You need air. You have to have water, nitrogen (green material, like plants or food scraps) and carbon (brown material, like paper or sawdust),” she said. “You need water because every living thing needs water. You need air because of the
type of bacteria you want in compost is aerobic and needs oxygen.”

Aerobic bacteria is the backbone of composting. It depends on oxygen to help break down the nitrogen and carbon materials in compost. There is also anaerobic bacteria that thrives in landfills where oxygen is deprived. Anaerobic bacteria creates methane and ammonia which is released into the atmosphere and lethally contributes to the amount of greenhouse gases forcing Earth’s temperatures to rise and causing climate change.

Composting at home

Composting at home works best with a minimum size space of 4x4x4, so the compost pile can protect itself from outside factors like snow or freezing rain. It should also be done using a layering system. Every time food scraps are tossed in, a handful of the carbon material, like shredded paper, should be tossed in as well with a small amount of water.

Once the compost reaches 160 degrees, it will need to be turned to allow oxygen to flow through it. Each element is vital to the success of the compost. Carbon and nitrogen materials are needed to allow for the expansion and reproduction of microorganisms, such as aerobic bacteria, in the compost. The microorganisms are what break down the compost and create new soil. Oxygen is needed in the compost because of the aerobic bacteria’s survival dependency on it. The microorganisms are coated in a layer of water and require the layer to survive, hence the need for water within compost. By the time the compost gets to around three feet, it will noticeably begin shrinking.

“I always tell people that this could be something fun to do with your family. I can’t wait to have a kid and open up the compost when it’s kinda cold outside and see the heat and steam
being released,” Campbell said.

Cities that compost

During her journey of starting the Springfield Compost Collective, Campbell spent two weeks traveling along the west coast to research composting on a larger scale within cities.

“This is when sometimes I feel like we live in a different country. It was normal there. You would walk into restaurants, especially in Colorado, and the system was so simple, but it was there. It was a bucket that said compost, and it was a different color with guidelines of what not to put in there. Then there was a recycling bin. And then next to that there was a tiny little trash can. This is where you put the trash, but by the time you go through the these two stages, you should only have a small amount of trash,” she said.

Composting and recycling is everywhere there. It is in malls, restaurants and homes. It is taken seriously.

“Here, in the Midwest, we are so disconnect with our trash even though its a huge issue. This movement of composting and recycling is really big on the west and east coasts. It’s so big that
when you go to San Francisco, they’re the number one composting city in our country. You have to do this in cities, like Portland and Seattle and San Francisco. There is no way around it. And here we’re still disconnected. We haven’t gotten our mind wrapped around that,” Campbell said.

Composting and recycling has changed cities. It has changed the infrastructure and offered more opportunities.

“Composting created jobs. Recycling created jobs. So now there are people monitoring these bins and making sure they’re staying clean and being taken out. It was an active process; it wasn’t something people forgot about,” she said. “We could do it here. We could be a little city that resembles good change for the Midwest.”

Community support

After she returned from her trip, she created a business plan from what she learned on the west coast and from her background in sustainable agriculture and plant science. They began picking up food scraps from different businesses to compost.

“By the end of the pilot program, we had diverted almost 30,000 pounds of food waste within just eight months from ten different businesses,” she said.

B2 Cafe, Vito’s Kitchen and the Mudhouse are some of the businesses that participated.

Campbell is very passionate about making sure businesses are recognized, credited and uplifted for being a part of the change and working with their team. Springfield Compost Collective was supported and encouraged by the community from the start, and now it has a diverse board of directors that meet once a month to discuss goals and progress made.

“It was really beautiful to be supported by people you would’ve never guessed. When we were creating the board we were trying to find professionals to be a part of the business, but we also
wanted to mix in community. We never wanted this hierarchy board where all these professionals were sitting at the top but didn’t know what it was like be down here collecting. We wanted a
nice diversity,” she said.

Anyone is welcome to come to the meetings and observe or offer ideas. Shoot an email to the board @sgfcompostivecollective@gmail.com if you’re interested and they’ll get back to you.

Photo via Campbell.

Goals

Springfield Compost Collective is working on many things. First their focus is licensing, building a website, creating subcommittees, planning for an educational facility and creating partnerships with the community.

They’re also hoping to launch more workshops and lectures. They have an annual fundraiser coming up in June as well, called ‘Talking Trash’ where they discuss mindful waste management.

Pyramid of Disposal

One of the biggest points of mindful waste management is going through the Pyramid of Disposal to reduce to amount of trash going to landfills.

First, feed people with the usable food. Leftover scraps from that can be fed to animals. The sludge that cannot be fed to animals should be composted and oils should be given to anaerobic digesters to create energy for the city. Then the very last resort is a landfill.

“The goal is going through this pyramid of processing waste and hoping that it never makes it to a landfill,” Campbell explained.

Other local efforts

Springfield Compost Collective is not the only group working bringing change to the Ozarks. Glendale High School composts food from their cafeteria on campus. They also offer a
gardening class where compost is maintained and vegetables are planted. Campbell wants our city council to reflect the same change that is happening in the community.

“I want our city council people to travel around and see what is happening elsewhere and come back and bring it to our town and say ‘hey we can do this’. Composting doesn’t have to be some
weird voodoo thing. Because it’s actually the opposite. There are some organizations out there that go as far to say that composting is one of the only things that is actually going to save us
from climate change,” she said.

Composting is so important in the fight against climate change because of it’s ability to filter out toxins as well as offer an alternative option to a landfills and applying synthetic fertilizers that actually kill all of the microorganisms in the soil.

Eating more of a plant-based diet is also really imperative to help reduce the individual effect on the planet. It helps with composting as well, because even though meat can be composted, it has to go to a trained facility to be carefully monitored.

“I love the fact that I’ve been able to tie the composting with the food. It’s a huge passion of mine. I went to school to grow food and then it turns out that I’m more into growing soil, like that’s my real passion. I want them to go hand in hand. The idea is that while people are composting and recycling, they’ll be eating better and more locally and being mindful of their trash,” Campbell said.

Springfield Compost Collective is starting a big change in the Ozarks. They are bringing awareness and changing how the Midwest perceives and connects with their trash.

They posted several tips and tricks on their Instagram page about how everyone can make a difference in reducing waste. Follow them on Instagram @springfieldcompostcollective for more information.

Look out for them this summer because exciting things are
coming to Queen City!

Written by Kelli Volonte.

The post Springfield Compost Collective helps prevent food waste first appeared on Drury Mirror.

Why you should recycle

Many people don’t know that you can recycle these items instead of throwing them away. Drury freshman, Tatum Clark, says that she even keeps something called an “electronic bucket” in her room.

“It’s where I put all my old phone and video game stuff in,” Clark explained. “If I get rid of the phone then I throw the chargers away.”

According to Consumer Reports, a United Nations study found that 44.7 million tons of electronic waste was discarded in 2016, yet only 20 percent of it was disposed of properly. Toxins from the electronics can then pollute the air, land and water. Instead of throwing away those broken chargers or headphones, you can take them to one of the many electronic recycling centers in Springfield.

It’s easier than you think

Clark admitted she knows little of electronic recycling. She’s not alone; many people know very little about how to properly dispose of old or broken electronics.

According to an article from Earth911, the United States produces more electronic waste than any other country. Americans throw away 9.4 million tons of e-waste each year. The article reported that according to e-waste disposal rates, Americans are throwing away over $60 million in gold and silver from their phones each year.

There is a bountiful amount of options when it comes to recycling in Springfield. Retailers like Verizon, Best Buy and Staples will accept certain materials. The information concerning what they’ll accept and what to do is just a phone call or click away.

Apple even offers a trade-in program for eligible devices. If the device isn’t eligible for trade-in, then they’ll recycle it for free.

There are also recycling centers in Springfield specifically for electronics, like the Computer Recycling Center, CMC Recycling and Complete Electronics Recycling.

Reducing our amount of electronic waste will make the planet a happier and healthier place to live. The next time your charger breaks, instead of tossing it in the garbage, take it to one of the numerous places in Springfield that will recycle electronics.

Written by Kelli Volonte.

The post Reduce your e-waste by recycling old electronics first appeared on Drury Mirror.

Students have been informed for years that environmental stability is important, but sometimes things are easier said than done. Topics such as recycling, energy usage, water consumption and composting can be overwhelming and efforts to do such are often postponed for other tasks at hand. Drury University also prides itself on its environmental efforts, but what exactly do their efforts entail?

A few members of the Drury community came forward to speak about what the university has done to make a difference, what they could do better and how the community can become more involved with campus sustainability efforts.

Sustainability at Drury: An overview 

Drury’s vision of becoming increasingly eco-friendly is largely overseen by the President’s Council of Sustainability. The panel is membered by environmental advocates across campus including Architecture Dean Karen Spence, Director of Facilities Services Brandon Gammill, Associate Professor of Biology Ioana Popescu and Head Groundskeeper Joe Fearn – just to name a few.

According to Fearn, the university’s sustainability efforts have been in progress for quite some time and have required constant evaluation. Recycling on campus first started around  ten years ago and was refocused in 2016 with the purchase of new recycling bins. The Commons replaced Styrofoam for eco-friendly, washable containers. The majority of Drury’s outside lighting has also been converted to LED, which saves energy consumption and decreases expenses.

In coming months, much of the lighting at HSA and Olin Library will hopefully be replaced with more sustainable lighting, according to Steven Schupbach, SGA V.P. of Sustainability during their most recent meeting. This will put an end to the annoying buzzing sounds, add value to university property and decrease energy consumption.

Last but not least, Grounds continues to show excellence for their strategic efforts to be as sustainable as possible.

Grounded in sustainability

Like his name might suggest, Drury’s Head Groundskeeper Joe Fearn is passionate about plants. However, he is also passionate about students and hopes to improve their academic experiences through his grounds-keeping.

Since Fearn’s arrival at Drury, the university has dramatically decreased chemical use and water consumption, while improving the plant mix, number of native species planted and efforts to infiltrate storm water.

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Is the landscape self-sustaining?’” said Fearn. “’Would the landscape continue without human intervention?’”

He added that it’s important to have stratification within the plant palette – a mixture of trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. It is this variety that allows for habitat. It’s also important that the plant species chosen thrive in the environment. Some of Drury’s reoccurring species include witch hazel, goldenrod, purple beautyberry and redwood trees.

Another important sustainability choice by Grounds is planting plants that have a small investment and footprint. Plants used on Drury’s campus are grown by a local nursey and bought while young, so less resources are spent on the plant by an outside source and money is put back into the local economy.

“Sometimes the biggest sustainability step that you can take is to not spend a dollar. Every dollar comes with a sustainability footprint,” said Fearn.

Fearn is proud of Drury’s sustainability efforts and appreciates the recognition shown by the City of Springfield. The city uses Drury’s landscape as a metric that is often used to advance their own environmental efforts.

“We look to push [Springfield] and, in return, respect when they push us.”

According to Fearn, over 70 large trees have been planted on the public areas of Drury and the university has agreed to take care of them for five years. On top of that, over the last five years Drury has planted over 400 trees, 600 shrubs, too many perennials to count and plans to plant over 6,000 bulbs in the coming months.

#DUDoesFall

As of Nov. 3, Drury Grounds’ twitter account is followed by 902 followers and tweeted 3,086 times. The account has been actively pushing their sustainability message since Nov. 2014.

According to Fearn (who runs the account), the account is a setting where students can engage with Grounds and view them in an authentic light. He urges students to do more than favorite or retweet the account, but “bring [Grounds] along with you” on your daily journey.

Students can also get involved this fall by participating in #DUDoesFall.

Started last year, the hashtag was created to help promote tree education in accordance with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA Certification. Drury University is one of only ten college campuses certified with the foundation in Missouri.

To participate, follow Think Green, Drury’s environmental awareness organization, on Instagram who will be posting hints about types of trees around campus that students need to find. Post the correct tree photo with three fun facts and the hashtag to hopefully when some cool prizes.

Small steps make a big difference

Students on campus are taking action to make a difference in the community. Junior Makayla Jordan-Diemler said there are very easy steps students can take to becoming more eco-friendly.

Makayla Jordan-Diemler with the new Planting Panther Pride shirt. Photo by Drury Grounds.

“The easiest thing I did was switch from plastic grocery bags to reusable ones,” Jordan-Diemler said.

She said she was inspired by a video called “You Can Live Without Producing Trash,” where a woman went waste-free and only produced a mason jar full of trash in two years.

While this may be overwhelming to consider at first, Jordan-Diemler had many suggestions for students to take more manageable steps.

“I also started bringing my own thermos to coffee shops and the CX so I didn’t have to use a paper cup,” she said.

This change led her to take other steps in reducing her production of waste.

“Another huge lifestyle change that I made to be waste-free was buying fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, oils, soaps and other things in bulk or without packaging,” she said.

To do this she went to Red Racks and bought cheap mason jars. Then she went to Mama Jean’s and purchased her grocery items. She said that buying things this way is actually cheaper and much more sustainable.

When she does use other products with packaging she takes a look at what they are made of. She did research on what she is allowed to recycle and started composting on campus.

Drury Grounds maintains two open-air compost heaps on campus that Jordan-Diemler uses to throw her compost into.

“By just recycling and composting, I’ve reduced my trash by at least 75 percent. I have only had to take out my trash once this semester,” she said.

According to Jordan-Diemler Drury Grounds is dedicated to making the campus more sustainable.

“They use resources that we already have rather than buying new resources like stones, mulch or dirt,” Jordan-Diemler said.

What could Drury do better?

Despite the work that Drury Grounds does, Jordan-Diemler said that she does not feel like Drury has a real dedication to sustainability.

“While recycling bins are a great start, it’s about more than putting out bins,” she said. “Actually, most of the bins on campus are labeled incorrectly. Springfield has single-stream recycling, so there is no reason for bins to be classified as ‘paper’ or ‘cans and bottles.’”

Instead, she suggests that there should be small recycling bins in every classroom. She also said that Drury should put more into their awareness of the recycling conditions on campus.

“So many people don’t think about the small things like using plastic straws or throwing away a graded essay, and a University-sponsored push for more environmental awareness could go a long way,” Jordan-Diemler said.

She said that she is working with Drury Grounds and Drury Facilities to take these sustainability steps, but she encourages students, staff and faculty to also advocate for these changes.

“There are so many resources to inspire waste-free living. I recommend the video I mentioned, Pinterest, or just going into a big store like Mama Jean’s to get inspired. Shopping waste-free makes me feel about one hundred times better about myself,” Jordan-Diemler said.

She has hope for the future of sustainability.

“I hope for a future where we can comfortably provide for ourselves without making disposable products at all. Where it’s a norm to compost and live in sustainable homes. This is incredibly possible if people make small switches from Tupperware to glass, from paper to laptops, from plastic to metal.”

The post Planting panther pride: Drury shares its sustainability efforts and tips first appeared on Drury Mirror.