Sustainability is Growing on Campus

This week we are welcoming the Class of 2018 on campus.  Among the many things they are learning about Ripon College is the importance of sustainability: use less stuff, use less energy,  and what can be recycled on campus (pretty much everything!).  Several dozen students and their families dropped by the Sustainability table in Pickard Commons for the Resource Fair. 

Resource Fair June 24-26, 2014

They also got to hear Kaitlyn Welzen '15 talk about the campus hoophouse and campus garden, as well as programs Sodexo dining has put in place to provide students with nutritious, local, and international options.  After her presentation, Kaitlyn was down in the garden picking strawberries and getting the ground ready for a late planting.

Kaitlyn Welzen taking a break from gardening

Cortland apples growing; hoophouse skeleton and compost in background

Happily, the Cortland apples are growing beautifully.  Perhaps we'll have enough apples this fall to bring in the apple press and make cider!

Wellness Fair - learn about health impacts of landfills and commit to reducing the waste you make on campus

Join campus and community members on Tuesday, November 2013 to learn about and participate in Health and Wellness activities relevant to Ripon students. The event will occur in Great Hall on campus 11AM - 2PM

Ripon Sustainability will have a table there to share information with the college community about the health benefits of reducing solid waste and increasing recycling.  Data are gathered from the EPA and DNR websites.  Come by to learn about what is recyclable on campus and meet our EcoREPS.

Sodexo intern update #4: compost, milk carton recycling

I have not written any blog posts in a while since there have not been any major updates lately; so here are a few that have accumulated over the past two weeks.

Firstly, composting within the city limits of Ripon can only occur on residential properties, according to the current city ordinance. This is an obstacle to allowing us to compost here on the college campus, but the situation is being addressed. Hopefully there can be some modification to the current ordinance or we can get an exception to begin composting here in the near future. Stay tuned for future updates on this issue!

Secondly, in researching what can be recycled (because of a question I was asked by a cook in the Commons kitchen,) I found out that soymilk containers and regular milk cartons can be recycled in the single-stream recycling we have on campus. Signs will be going up in the Terrace, and most likely the Pub, to reflect this and to encourage students to recycle more.

Lastly, in the month of September, there were 29 buckets of compost brought to Fraser Farm for composting. Since each of the buckets holds 5 gallons, 145 gallons of organic materials were diverted to composting rather than going to a landfill this past month. While I have no data in terms of pounds per bucket, I guess that the average weight would be around 25 pounds per bucket (since I carry most of the buckets) that amounts to somewhere around 725 pounds of fruits and vegetable scraps that did not go to a landfill. That's something we can feel good about.

That’s it for now. Questions and comments appreciated!