Our Mission: by Saanvi Kalia
As a Business major and Sustainability minor, I was drawn to ENVIRON 361: The Psychology of Environmental Stewardship for its applications on how we can influence both business leaders and consumers to adopt sustainable practices. When the course professor, Tara-Sky Woodward, introduced a semester-long group project to develop a sustainability initiative with assistance from Student Life Sustainability, I felt eager to apply what I was learning in the course to a real-world opportunity alongside like-minded students.
Once project teams were established, my team discussed sustainability initiatives we wanted to see on campus. Since 90% of our team lives in off-campus housing, we focused on our own experiences. We noticed that there are many composting opportunities in dining halls, university buildings, and residential hall waste closets, but access is limited in off-campus buildings. We noticed a gap between the University’s strong progress toward sustainability goals and access to composting in off-campus housing. Our team decided to investigate this situation further: why was this an issue in the first place, and how could it be changed?
During the few weeks of the project, our team attended several sustainability events, including the Campus Farm Club and Trash Club Zero Waste Week Composting Event and the University’s pilot zero waste hockey game, to better understand how composting is currently being implemented and supported throughout campus. As we learned more about these programs and gathered invaluable insights from Heather King at Student Life Sustainability, we realized our project would be most effective if we focused on piloting composting in a specific off-campus housing building. We decided to center the project on the Chi Omega chapter house as three team members are current members of the sorority.
To gather information about how we could implement this, we contacted the Chi Omega house chef who pointed us to another campus sorority chapter with an existing composting program. From here, our graduate student instructor connected us with Mallory Lawson, a Compost Program Coordinator at the City of Ann Arbor. Afterwards, we had a meeting with Mallory to understand how Chi Omega could pilot a composting initiative. Currently, we are working on getting final approval from the Chi Omega house director to order composting bins.
Navigating different resources helped us recognize an opportunity to make off-campus composting initiatives more accessible and easier to implement for students and organizations interested in doing so. Our goal with this project is to build on existing efforts to create a clear pathway for others to follow, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable Ann Arbor community. In this blog post, our team will share what we’ve learned, outline implementation steps, and highlight key Ann Arbor regulations to help others get started.
What Can YOU Do?: by Graham Lippincott
When it comes to composting off-campus, the average student can do much more than they think. Organizing waste is very achievable at the group level, and even composting on your own or within your household can make an impact. Many people don’t want to compost for one specific reason: the smell. Contrary to popular belief, the smell that is emitted when composting is, in fact, an earthy, woody smell that can even be pleasant. As long as you are maintaining your compost appropriately, that smell will not be an issue. When it comes to concerns from others in your unit who may be hesitant about composting, you can do things like keep a small compost bin in your fridge. This allows you to get rid of the smells and move them to a larger bin once it is full. Also, lining your bin with paper sacks and emptying them into larger sacks after being full helps cut down on leaking and smells as well.
Before taking ENVIRON 361 at the University of Michigan, I had no involvement in sustainability initiatives and rarely thought about how I was impacting the environment—outside of turning the water off when I brush my teeth. Upon taking the course, my thought process on how I can make an impact changed dramatically. In just a short three months, our team has coordinated a pilot composting program at the Chi Omega sorority chapter house on campus. You can make a similar change, whether you live in a multi-family housing unit, a single-family home, or an apartment.
Single Family Housing Units:
When it comes to living in a single-family home, composting is one step away: all you need to do is install a bin with the city! Compost services are free with curbside pickup, and you can either pick up a free bin from one of the City of Ann Arbor compost facilities or pay $63 for a compost bin to be delivered straight to your house. For curbside pickup, all you must do is drop the bin off on the street on the same day trash and recycling pickup come along. The compost bin will be emptied. Composting trucks come by every week during the spring, fall, and summer months, with weekly pickup typically starting in early April. During the Winter months, composting is picked up once per month, specifically because it may freeze. Residents can also drop their compost off at the Ann Arbor Compost Facility (4170 Platt Road) during business hours, once per day. Another option includes the “Drop-Off Station” (2950 E Ellsworth Rd), which accepts compost and yard waste. The city lists acceptable compost materials on its website and in a PDF flyer.
Multi-Family Housing Units and Apartments:
The City of Ann Arbor is currently in the process of streamlining composting and, therefore, does not provide a compost bin to multi-family housing units and apartments due to the high turnover rate and high risk of contamination. However, you can obtain your own personal bin and bring your food scraps to the registered compost drop-off location (4170 Platt Road) in the city. When it comes to purchasing a bin, you can find many great options on online retail websites, including two here: Option 1, or Option 2. Given that you are dropping off your compost to the city, it is important that you maintain an acceptable compost collection and bag it appropriately, as the city requires compost to be stored in paper bags (whether a lunch sack, a paper grocery bag, or even a lawn bag) instead of compostable bag liners. Dropping off locally can be done at either the Ann Arbor Compost Facility (4170 Platt Road) or the “Drop-Off Station” (2950 E Ellsworth Rd). When it comes to concerns from others in your unit who may be hesitant about composting, you can do things like keep a small compost bin in your fridge.
On-Campus Compost:
As a student at the University of Michigan, you have the opportunity to make a change through composting. There are plenty of clubs you can join that are involved in composting and sustainability, such as Campus Farm Club and Trash Club. You can also implement composting through your social groups, whether it be a school organization, Greek Life, sports team, etc. The Office of Campus Sustainability also often hosts zero-waste events. Zero-waste events are university-sponsored events where 90% or more of the waste is diverted away from landfills and put into compost and recycling. Things like the zero-waste hockey game and UM Zero Waste Week are examples, and your club or group can actively participate in zero-waste too when running events. In our case, we are in the process of creating a Sustainability Chair within the Chi Omega chapter’s executive board. Demonstrating a clear interest in waste diversion and talking about sustainability within groups tends to lead to pursuing these initiatives. Involving your club in efforts like becoming Planet Blue Ambassadors, A2Zero Ambassadors, contacting local governments affiliated with sustainability, and coordinating with the University administration will provide resources to push forward your sustainability initiative.
City of Ann Arbor Composting 101: by Ellie Albert
In our endeavors to make composting more accessible to students living off-campus, we came across many resources. These are the most interesting ones we want to share with you:
- The city composting service is FREE to Ann Arbor residents in single family homes! The only fee that could apply is if interested parties elect to have a compost bin delivered to their residence, in which a one-time fee of $63 is owed. Alternatively, people can opt to pick up their bin from the City Hall or Wheeler Service Center free of charge.
- Leaves, clippings, and other yard waste can be composted! It’s a great option because the regenerated mulch is also free for residents to bring home and use for their own garden/landscaping projects, tying into the city’s efforts to maintain a circular economy.
- Liners are not accepted by the city service, but paper yard bags are.
- Some items labeled “compostable” might actually not be, depending on the service. For example, the University is able to collect items that the city does not, like certain types and brands of compostable diningware. Nuances like these can be hard to navigate, but there are lots of lists available like this database for UM or in the City of Ann Arbor’s FAQ to help clarify where to throw.
- Our initial goal was to pilot composting in multiple off-campus living spaces, including the high rises on South University Ave and additional Greek Life houses. The biggest concern on behalf of the city for these spaces are the high turnover rates, as previously mentioned. However, there are lots of opportunities and clubs on campus that are looking to help increase awareness and the practice of composting! We attended the Campus Farm Club’s compost event for Zero Waste Week, where compact containers were distributed to interested students.
- Did you know that University of Michigan football games are designed to generate zero waste? The concessions are all recyclable or compostable. The compost is then processed using the Campus Farm’s compost sifter!
Saanvi, Graham, and Ellie are students who completed this project in the ENVIRON 361 course.