Bio Cups Being Trashed, Not Yet Composted

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Green takes time.

by Andy Rees


Eric Rossi, a fourth year industrial design major, throws a plate into the bin intended for compost.
Eric Drummond

New bio-plastic cups and plates are not being recycled by RIT Dining Services, but instead thrown out.

On March 10th, 2008, the RITz Sports Zone began introducing special tableware products made from compostable material. This introduction was to act as a pilot program to facilitate the reduction of the amount of waste generated by on-campus dining facilities. After use, the compostable product would be sold to Freshwise Farms, a local organic grower, to help defray RIT’s additional cost in purchasing the bio-plastics over normal tableware. At Freshwise, the material could then be properly composted. As of April 4th, according to a concerned RITz employee, the product was not being properly composted.

“They take the compost and throw it into the trash, and then into the trash compactor,” said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous. “I think it’s wrong to lie to everyone... I was pissed when I found out.”

When asked about this situation, Gary Gasper, Director of SAU Dining Services, acknowledged that he was aware that the compost material was being thrown out, explaining that there had been delays with Freshwise. “The bio-plastic cups... under ideal composting conditions, which is about 155 degrees, break down in about 180 days,” remarked Gasper. Whereas food compost such as vegetables and fruit, he said, take 60 days, which means that farmers “are very apprehensive to deal with bio-plastic.”

“We’re waiting for Freshwise Farms to get back the contract to us,” he said, pointing out that RIT had hoped Freshwise would have been on board by now. Freshwise Farms could not be reached for comment.

Gasper noted that while they are yet to begin composting, the RITz staff is attempting to train customers to properly separate compost from trash. In cooperation with the Student Environmental Action League (SEAL) and Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), the RITz has hired employees to monitor the compost receptacles, as well as to remind customers what is trash and what is compost.

“We’re trying to create an awareness with our customers, as to where this stuff is supposed to go,” said Gasper. “People say just ‘throw the stuff away,’ but where’s ‘away’?”

“Dining Services knew that they weren’t going to compost right away, but they wanted to get the program started and start teaching students what should be separated out,” said Heather Newton, president of SEAL, and one of the coordinators for the composting project.

“Freshwise’s concern is that the paper plates and cups will blow out of the compost pile into neighboring lands,” she said, which may be a cause for the delay with the contracts. One solution to this problem, she said, would be to use the FMS wood chipper on the compost material before it is collected. However, there is some question as to whether that is feasible.

In the event that the Freshwise deal does not go through, Gasper, SEAL and ESW are looking into the option of creating a composting facility at RIT. “We’re thinking about opening up our own compost,” stated Gasper, “but it will take time and consultation with organizations such as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”

RecycleMania Hits RIT

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Institute does fairly well in national competition.

by Rohit Garg

Last week, RIT completed RecycleMania, a ten-week national competitive recycling event which has been taking place since 2001. This was the first time RIT took part in the competition, due to Recycling Administrator Tyler Stewart’s initiative.

Having started between Ohio and Miami Universities in 2001, the number of universities participating has been increasing exponentially every year, with this year’s competition including 400 colleges across the nation. There are four primary competitions; Grand Champion, Per Capita Classic, Waste Minimization, Gorilla Prize, and four targeted material competitions: Paper, Corrugated Cardboard, Bottles & Cans, and Food Service Organics. The ranking of an institute in these categories is determined by the average weight of recycled waste per student and the average amount of waste per student, respectively.

The recycling rates of RIT remained almost constant before and during the competition. As far as RIT’s performance goes, the institute ranked 15th out of 79 colleges in the Grand Champion competition, 5th out of 151 colleges in the Per Capita Classic competition, and 80th out of 87 in Waste Minimization. RIT did not significantly participate in the targeted material competitions, except in Bottles & Cans, in which it ranked 5th out of 136. During the competition, bottle and can recycling was 1.73 lbs per person during week 1, and it proceeded to remain at 0 lbs/person through weeks 2-8, when there was a sudden peak of recycling (9.79 lbs/person) during week 9.

Stewart remarked, “This was our first year in the competition. We spent more time trying to get the data right than actually publicizing it. I expect that in the next couple years, we’re going to do much better. We’ll drum up a lot of support for the competition.” He said that he feels RIT’s performance can improve if students are better informed about RecycleMania.

Reporter Online | Tag: Recycling

Bio Cups Being Trashed, Not Yet Composted

Green takes time.

RecycleMania Hits RIT

Institute does fairly well in national competition.