Iowa State University Ames, Iowa Waste Reduction

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1 Iowa State University Ames, Iowa Waste Reduction SCHOOL Iowa State University is a four-year public institution located in Ames, Iowa. ISU is one of the nation s leading land-grant research universities and enrolls over 26,000 students each year. ABSTRACT In 2008, Iowa State s president, Dr. Gregory Geoffroy, launched Live Green! It s ISU s campus-wide sustainability initiative encouraging all faculty, staff and students to be fully committed to and engaged in making our campus, its operations and initiatives as green as possible. The Live Green! initiative also challenges Iowa State to become a leader in sustainability among land grand institutions and recognizes that every member of the ISU community is critical to achieving this goal. Iowa State s departments of ISU Dining, the Department of Residence and Facilities Planning and Management worked together to implement various waste reduction tactics including: a university compost facility, trayless dining, and recycling. This has resulted in savings in the following areas: 220 tons of food waste sent to the compost facility; charges of $800-$1200 were avoided; 18 tons of recycled products in one semester; and several truckloads of donated items at the end of the year. GOALS AND OUTCOMES The construction of an all-university compost facility came at a key time for ISU Dining. The compost facility takes wastes from campus, composts them and returns the product back to campus for uses in landscaping and building projects. Food waste was a concern for ISU Dining and along with that came a water-quality issue. Food particles were going into the waste water stream at a high rate. ISU Dining was to be charged $800-$1200 per month for the treatment of the water. The goals were to avoid the water charge, decrease food waste and help the environment. With the compost facility online, ISU Dining worked with Facilities Planning and Management to develop a system for the removal and composting of food waste. Both departments, along with the Department of Residence, worked through the logistics of bringing in compost dumpsters and trucking the food waste to the compost facility. A pilot compost project happened in the spring of The kinks were worked out and in fall 2009, two of the big three dining centers on campus along with ISU Dining s commissary kitchen were sending pre-and-post consumer waste to the compost facility. Also in the fall of 2009, ISU Dining opened a remodeled dining center. Part of the renovation included switching to trayless dining and also adding a pulper. A pulper is used to grind up the food particles, spin out the water and make pulp. This pulp breaks down more quickly at the compost facility.

2 Fall 2010 will mark the year that all ISU Dining centers will operate as trayless dining facilities. All food waste from these dining centers and the commissary kitchen will be composted. The Department of Residence saw the need for a systematic department-wide recycling program and set that as the goal. The need for a more structured recycling program was determined by staff and student feedback. Initially, recycling was up to each floor (or house as it s called at ISU) to do as they saw fit. You would get some houses with very intense recycling programs and others that were not as interested. The program was funded and operated completely at the house level. In the apartment communities on campus, the same system was happening. The Department of Residence pulled together an active group of students and worked with them to pilot a recycling program with more departmental support and structure. The students piloted a project in spring From the pilot, it was determined that cardboard, wet board, paper and plastic would be recycled. The Department of Residence purchased recycling containers, set up bins and scheduled recycling trucking. A sustainability chairperson was established in each house to educate students and help take care of the recycling centers. End of the year recycling is also in place. The goal with this was to keep usable items out of the landfill by setting up collection sites for students to drop off usable goods. Then, the Department of Residence took these goods to the local Goodwill store. ISU wanted to be more sustainable and find a better use for the solid manure produced on the ISU livestock operations. We were also planning to be an outlet for the large percentage of compostable materials from campus that go to a landfill (like food waste). This also would help ISU Dining reduce the amount of solids going into the sanitary sewer system from their operations. We plan to continue to improve on the percentage of materials that are diverted from a landfill or that go down a drain. Accomplishments and Outcomes Our main goal above was to avoid the likely $800-$1200 per month charges because of solids going into the waste stream. Trayless dining in conjunction with utilizing the compost facility helped us avoid the charges. In the first year, 220 tons of food waste was sent to the compost facility. We expect that to grow with another of our dining centers implementing composting for Policies Composting food waste was a change for our staff members. It s a different step in the process from what they did before food waste was composted. We developed several internal guidelines for this process and trained our staff on the importance of composting and following guidelines. Impacting Wildlife and Natural Environment The impact with trayless dining is that less food is wasted. So, less food has to be produced, trucked and prepared. The impact of composting is that solid wastes are kept out of the waste water cycles which mean less treatment of the water is needed.

3 The goal was to give our students and easy and effective way to recycle on their floor. The goals were met in that 18 tons of waste were recycled in one semester and there is now more awareness about recycling on campus. Eighteen truckloads of usable goods were kept out of the landfill by students utilizing our end-of-the-year collection sites. Policies Policies for what can and cannot be recycled are in place for our students. There is also a policy handbook for the recycling chair on each floor so they know the process of recycling on campus. For the end of the year program, we gather our partners across campus and set up a meeting to improve upon the process each year. Guidelines are in place for what can and can t be accepted at the collection sites. We use the guidelines from Goodwill and follow those for the collection. Impacting Wildlife and Natural Environment keeps items out of the landfill. And, more items are able to be made with recycled materials lessening the need to use natural habitats to make products. Approximately 50 percent of the solids from livestock manure is separated from the liquids and composted. Materials from ISU Dining, greenhouses, biomass research activities, and other university operations are brought to the facility and composted. This compost is then used to improve soil structure on the ISU campus. In 2009, more than 9000 tons of compost was created. By improving soil structure with compost, this greatly reduces the material and transportation costs for plant replacement and reduces the need for manufactured soil additives. Policies The design standards for the soils used for backfill on construction projects have been revised to require amended soils with compost. The compost operation allows for better scheduling for the manure that is land applied. By reducing the amount of manure that is land applied, it can be spread during the most optimum times. Impacting Wildlife and Natural Environment The compost operation allows for better scheduling for the manure that is land applied. By reducing the amount of manure that is land applied, it can be spread during the most optimum times. Optimum spreading of manure as well as the reduction of solids going into the sanitary sewer system from the dining operations improves water quality. Improving water quality, reducing the amount of materials going to the landfill, and reducing the need, and transportation, for manufactured soil additives and amendments improve the environment. Challenges and Responses Two key factors for the success of trayless dining were education and easing our students into the change. We spent an entire year educating students on the benefits of trayless dining to overcome the possible negative response from removing trays. We also paid close attention to the style of dishes we used and also the layout of the facilities when we decided to go trayless. Our first trayless facility was a renovated dining center. During the planning, we paid attention to the flow so that if students asked for it, we could easily convert to trayless. It worked! The education helped and by the time this facility opened, students

4 were asking that we go trayless. Now, what we learned in our first trayless facility is being implemented as we convert other locations to trayless. Changes would include even more education for students before going trayless. Getting information to students about recycling and also keeping the recycling areas clean were our biggest challenges. And, we continue to face these challenges. The selection of our containers and training the recycling chair has helped with these issues. We also do a welcome campaign the first few weeks of school that helps kick our green initiatives off on the right foot with students so they re aware of them right away. This project was a major cost to the university, but supported by the university. The University Compost Facility receives materials from many university administrative areas, which also use the finished compost. This is a university-wide operation and took cooperation and coordination from all of these areas. Campus Climate Action: Your School s Carbon Footprint This initiative helps reduce food waste. In turn, less food has to be produced, trucked and prepared on our campus. This helps with protecting land, saving energy and reducing emissions from trucking. helps reuse products which means less products (or less of that particular product) has to be produced from scratch from the start. Re-using items also lessens the need to keep creating new products. The compost facility has reduced the solids going into the waste stream and reduced treatment costs. Also, compost lessens the need for manufactured soil additives and amendments, which reduces CO2 emissions from the manufacture and transportation of these materials. Commentary and Reflection Be sure to keep in mind that converting to trayless is a process. As you make changes in that direction, other issues may come up. But, in the end, being good stewards for the Earth is worth the time and effort. It s also very important to educate students on why you are converting to trayless and involve them in the process from the beginning. With recycling, it was something we wanted to make happen. We involved students to run a pilot project and help us outline the program. This gave us a student insight from the beginning and also helped our staff manage the time commitment of getting this project off the ground. Other universities have developed compost operations to different degrees of complexity. All that we have visited with have found the process and results as rewarding as we have at Iowa State. It is not difficult finding campus people eager to engage in ideas to reduce waste, conserve energy, improve water and air quality, and become more environmentally friendly.

5 ENGAGEMENT AND SUPPORT Leaders and Supporters ISU Dining, in partnership with the and the Department of Residence, made this initiative possible. Students from various organizations throughout campus also helped with education. It s hard to name key individuals in this as it was truly a team effort on the part of all ISU Dining employees and key individuals across campus. The Department of Residence staff supported this initiative. Key players included the Green House Group, the DOR Green Team and Waste Management company. The University was planned, designed and constructed by Facilities, Planning & Management and the Agricultural Project Services area. This facility and its goals are supported by the President s Office, VP for Business and Finance, VP for Student Affairs, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, FP&M, ISU Dining, Department of Residence, and Extension. Funding and Resources Trayless dining has cost us about $150,000. It is important to note up front that much of this savings will eventually be returned to us in the reduction of food cost and energy savings. Included in these costs was a dock re-design and the conversion of an existing facility to trayless. Compost bins were paid for using ISU s Live Green revolving loan fund. And, $80,000 of Coke marketing money was also used to fund this project. The recycling containers for each house were about $50,000 and the charge from the recycling company to remove the materials averages about $1500 per month. This is paid for using general funds One million dollars, which came from grants, university funding, funds from College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, funds from ISU Dining, funds from Facilities Planning and Management, and future revenue from the operation. Education and Community Outreach Educational materials, presentations, student feedback and peer-to-peer education were used to engage and inform the campus community. A large green welcome kicks off the education for our students living on campus. The Green House Group is a group of students that helps with peer-to-peer education and implementation of several marketing materials. There are also about 150 recycling chairs on campus that are charged with maintain their area s recycling site. The city of Ames was a consultant and partner on our efforts to collect usable goods at the end of each school year.

6 The compost facility is used by ISU Extension for a compost short course to teach individuals, municipalities, and commercial operations about composting. There are several tours each year by local, university, commercial, and municipality personnel. The City of Ames has expressed interest in the operation. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has been helpful throughout this project and continues to be a partner. National Wildlife Federation s Campus Ecology Program The Campus Ecology Program, through the many resources that it offers, has assisted not only this project but many others at Iowa State University. The breadth and depth of the resources the Campus Ecology Program offers make them beneficial for the entire university community (involving students, faculty, and staff) in all of our diverse and multi-faceted sustainability projects, initiatives, and goals. In particular, the online case study database has allowed us to learn from, share with, and connect to other campuses toward a collective goal of a being leaders in sustainability. CONTACT INFORMATION Nancy Levandowski, ISU Dining Director, nancyl@iastate.edu Pete Englin, Director of the Department of Residence, penglin@iastate.edu Mark Huss, Manager of FP&M Agricultural Project Services, mhuss@iastate.edu Case study submitted by: Brittney Rutherford, Marketing Coordinator (ISU Dining, Department of Residence), brittyl@iastate.edu MORE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL Campus Sustainability History President Geoffroy created the ISU sustainability initiative in This initiative was to encourage all faculty, staff and students to be fully committed to and engaged in making our campus, its operations and initiatives as green as possible. We were to be a leader in sustainability among land grant institutions and to recognize that the involvement and dedication of every member of the ISU community is critical to achieving this goal. The President developed the following pillars to help with the Live Green mission: established an Advisory Committee on Energy Conservation and Global Climate Change; established a Live Green! revolving loan fund; hired a sustainability director; and completed annual sustainability symposiums for all university staff, faculty, students and members of the community. For more formation about ISU programs and activities, visit: