Hoffman 1 Towards Zero Waste: Implementations for Waste Reduction on Smith College’s Campus Sara Hoffman May 8, 2008 EVS 300: Seminar in Environmental Science and Policy Spring 2008 Professors Paulette Peckol and Gregory WhiteHoffman 2 “Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible trustee of the Earth, seeking choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will provide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and foster peaceful progress in the human adventure.” John McConnell, Founder of International Earth DayHoffman 3 ABSTRACT Humans and Smithies specifically, are incredibly wasteful. Throwing things in the garbage is an afterthought in the daily life of a college student. In attempting to make Smith College more sustainable I had the idea to become a Zero Waste campus as waste is a sign of inefficiency and a lack of sustainable practices. As I researched, interviewed people, and conducted unofficial surveys of students I came to find that not only was Zero Waste impossible at Smith, but that as a group we need to learn to crawl before we can walk. That is to say, in my opinion people need to take more care in reducing, reusing, and recycling before there can be any hope of implementing a completely sustainable anti-waste system. What I’ve attempted in this project is to understand why we don’t, as an institution of higher learning, recycle more than we actually do and to suggest some baby steps to change our habits in the attempt of eventually becoming waste free. This is not a scientific report. It was not my intention to write a science-based report. It was my aim to understand the theoretical, ideological, and behavioral aspects as to why Smithies don’t recycle as much as they should. I’ve used my knowledge of policy analysis and my understanding of trends on Smith’s campus to evaluate the college’s current issues with unnecessary waste and our below average recycling program. I began this project thinking about the strange dichotomy between my obsession with recycling everything possible and my ability to use multiple paper cups for my coffee addiction each week. The research process has been quite a journey. I would like to share my academic travels around campus, through our waste and towards a sustainable future with you. Enjoy. Hoffman 4 INTRODUCTION We began this course questioning the definition of sustainability. Throughout my environmental studies at Smith and in my life outside of Smith, I have always questioned sustainability. How long have we had this word in our vocabulary? What has occurred to lead us towards such a focus on sustainability recently? It seems like everywhere I go and everything I do lately somehow relates to or brings me back to sustainability. Sustainability has been talked about on radios, in newspapers, on the television- so much so that it’s become a household word. Somehow, through all of the hype about how it’s hip to be “green” the idea has gotten lost in translation. Anyone you ask will give you a slightly different answer. As I’ve traveled through my years at Smith even my definition has shifted. Sometimes, I find it hard to know which way is up in my environmental focus; what’s beneficial for the economy is almost never beneficial for the environment and vice versa. Truly, economics and environmentalism are arch enemies in the never ending battle of development. We were presented with two definitions of sustainability: “[D]evelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”1 “A sustainable society is one that ensures the health and vitality of human life and culture and of nature’s capital for present and future generations.”2 It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to choose which definition is correct. The definition of sustainability is slightly different for everyone. For my purpose in this report, my 1 G. Bruntland (ed.), Our Common Future: The World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987, pg. 8. 2 M.J. Groom, G.K. Meffe, C.R. Carroll, and contributors, Principles of Conservation Biology, 3rd ed., Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 1987, pg. 591. Hoffman 5 idea of sustainability is much more earth-focused and resides somewhere closer to the latter definition above. I was asked through this assignment to propose tangible ideas to aid in improving campus sustainability. When I received this project, I found myself taking a deeper look at Smith, its culture, and my daily life. Where were the holes in the system? What needs to be fixed? Smith, on the surface, seems to be doing pretty well for itself, environmentally. As I thought more and more about the project, I began to notice how much coffee I was drinking. No, it’s not what you’re thinking- It’s not because I know caffeine is bad for me and I should choose healthier alternatives, but because I had lost my reusable to-go mug and I kept purchasing several paper cups worth of coffee each week. My environmentalist heart always skips a beat when I toss my paper coffee cup in the trash. As I realized how many paper cups I was tossing in the trash I also noticed just how much trash and waste in general I was generating. Then, every Sunday, I began to notice that the trash room in my dormitory would be overflowing because the janitor did not collect the trash over the weekend. I realized that I wasn’t the only one. All of my housemates were generating just as much, if not more, waste than I was. Waste is a sign of inefficiency in a system and so to find such an integral part of our life as humans to be so intensely inefficient on campus, I decided to focus my research on waste reduction strategies to aid in Smith’s attempt at a sustainable future. THE CASE FOR ZERO WASTE What is Zero Waste? When considering sustainability and waste reduction the logical goal seems to be striving towards Zero Waste. Waste causes great loss of value and resources. Humans are the only species that create excess waste. Advocates for a Zero Waste system believe that “we canHoffman 6 identify all types of waste and through their elimination, save money and achieve a more