Evergreen State College is a public, liberal arts school in Olympia, Washington. About 4,800 students attend this 1000-acre, suburban school, most of whom are undergraduates living on campus (12.1). Even outside of its composting program, Evergreen is a very environmentally conscious school. They offer program housing for any students who are interested in environmental activism, they derive a significant amount of their energy from renewable sources, and are consistently recognized as one of the country’s most “green” colleges by the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, and the Princeton Review (12.1). One of the most impressive environmental aspects of Evergreen is its Organic Garden. This five-acre plot of land is located in the Northwest portion of campus and is used for agricultural and ecological studies. This is also where much of the compost on campus is processed and used (12). As far as composting goes, Evergreen knows what they are doing. A student audit of the school’s landfill revealed that half the waste present was compostable, so currently there are two comprehensive programs in place that recycle the food waste produced by the school. This is how they work:
Collection:
Collection of food waste at Evergreen goes on in two ways: through the dining halls and in dorms. In the dining halls students throw their food scraps into bins, which are then combined with all of the pre-consumer food waste produced in the kitchens, and put into large outdoor composting bins to be picked up. In addition to the food waste, all of the cups, plates, bowls, utensils, and napkins from the dining halls can be composted. Because there is so much of it, the compostable waste from the dining halls cannot go to the Organic Farm, so it is given to Silver Springs Organics, a company who takes the it to their processing facility 20 miles away (12.2). The other composting program at Evergreen deals with the food waste produced by students in their dorms and apartments (12.3). Compost bins are provided in all the apartment buildings on campus and students in regular housing may request bins for themselves, free of charge. In their individual compost bins, students are allowed to throw away pretty much all food waste, but not paper, shells, or biodegradable containers (12.3). There are four collection sites around the campus where students can go to dispose of the food waste they have in their bins. Student volunteers pick up the waste from these collection sites in 20-gallon buckets and put it into a truck that takes it to the Organic Farm to be processed (12.3). Evergreen’s on-campus composting program requires a lot of student volunteers, which makes it a system that wouldn’t necessarily work at all schools, but since the school's sustainability housing program requires its residents do 8 volunteer hours per month, they are always able to find people who want to help out (12.1).
Processing:
When the compost material from Evergreen’s dining halls is taken to the Silver Springs Organics’s facility it goes through a process similar to the one in Vancouver. The facility uses an Aerated Static Pile system, which simply means the material from Evergreen is ground up with other plant waste, put into piles around perforated pipes, covered, and let sit. Since air is being mechanically forced into the piles through the pipes, there is no need to turn or agitate them (12.4). The organic waste that is processed on campus goes through a similar process, but it is much less mechanized. The compost is made on Evergreen’s Organic Farm by students and supervisors and is largely used as an educational tool (12). The Organic Farm uses and teaches students about a variety of composting methods, but they mainly use an Aerated Static Pile system to process their food waste. Because the Farm does not have the industrial resources that Silver Springs and other companies do, they cannot grind up the compost material in the same way. Instead, a part time student composter and some volunteers use a ¾ ton truck, 2 tractors, a manure spreader, and pitchforks to mix the food scraps with plant waste and pile it up (12). The piles are made into windrows, which are then covered either by the same Gore-Tex fabric used in Seattle, or just woodchips. The piping that runs through the windrows is made from PVC and they use a blower fan on a timer to circulate the air (12). There is also a third, much less common, source of compost that Evergreen utilizes. They have one outhouse on their Organic Farm that contains a composting toilet. Because it is secluded it does not generate much compost, but Evergreen is trying to recycle in any way they can and will use whatever compost they can get (12).
Distribution:
The compost created by Silver Springs Organics is theirs, so they package it and sell it for a profit to farmers and residents in the area (12). The compost created at Evergreen is given to facilities to be used on the Organic Farm and other plants on campus that need fertilizer. The fertilizer is good, but the operation at Evergreen is not scaled to handle all of the students’ food waste (12). This is why compost bins are not automatically given to all students. If a lot more students request compost bins, though, Evergreen will have to expand its program. To do this they will probably have to hire some students to transport and process the food waste, and invest in more efficient technology. However, the more compost that is produced, the less the school has to spend on fertilizer and landfill fees, so they would be making some of their money back and maybe someday be making a profit.
Collection:
Collection of food waste at Evergreen goes on in two ways: through the dining halls and in dorms. In the dining halls students throw their food scraps into bins, which are then combined with all of the pre-consumer food waste produced in the kitchens, and put into large outdoor composting bins to be picked up. In addition to the food waste, all of the cups, plates, bowls, utensils, and napkins from the dining halls can be composted. Because there is so much of it, the compostable waste from the dining halls cannot go to the Organic Farm, so it is given to Silver Springs Organics, a company who takes the it to their processing facility 20 miles away (12.2). The other composting program at Evergreen deals with the food waste produced by students in their dorms and apartments (12.3). Compost bins are provided in all the apartment buildings on campus and students in regular housing may request bins for themselves, free of charge. In their individual compost bins, students are allowed to throw away pretty much all food waste, but not paper, shells, or biodegradable containers (12.3). There are four collection sites around the campus where students can go to dispose of the food waste they have in their bins. Student volunteers pick up the waste from these collection sites in 20-gallon buckets and put it into a truck that takes it to the Organic Farm to be processed (12.3). Evergreen’s on-campus composting program requires a lot of student volunteers, which makes it a system that wouldn’t necessarily work at all schools, but since the school's sustainability housing program requires its residents do 8 volunteer hours per month, they are always able to find people who want to help out (12.1).
Processing:
When the compost material from Evergreen’s dining halls is taken to the Silver Springs Organics’s facility it goes through a process similar to the one in Vancouver. The facility uses an Aerated Static Pile system, which simply means the material from Evergreen is ground up with other plant waste, put into piles around perforated pipes, covered, and let sit. Since air is being mechanically forced into the piles through the pipes, there is no need to turn or agitate them (12.4). The organic waste that is processed on campus goes through a similar process, but it is much less mechanized. The compost is made on Evergreen’s Organic Farm by students and supervisors and is largely used as an educational tool (12). The Organic Farm uses and teaches students about a variety of composting methods, but they mainly use an Aerated Static Pile system to process their food waste. Because the Farm does not have the industrial resources that Silver Springs and other companies do, they cannot grind up the compost material in the same way. Instead, a part time student composter and some volunteers use a ¾ ton truck, 2 tractors, a manure spreader, and pitchforks to mix the food scraps with plant waste and pile it up (12). The piles are made into windrows, which are then covered either by the same Gore-Tex fabric used in Seattle, or just woodchips. The piping that runs through the windrows is made from PVC and they use a blower fan on a timer to circulate the air (12). There is also a third, much less common, source of compost that Evergreen utilizes. They have one outhouse on their Organic Farm that contains a composting toilet. Because it is secluded it does not generate much compost, but Evergreen is trying to recycle in any way they can and will use whatever compost they can get (12).
Distribution:
The compost created by Silver Springs Organics is theirs, so they package it and sell it for a profit to farmers and residents in the area (12). The compost created at Evergreen is given to facilities to be used on the Organic Farm and other plants on campus that need fertilizer. The fertilizer is good, but the operation at Evergreen is not scaled to handle all of the students’ food waste (12). This is why compost bins are not automatically given to all students. If a lot more students request compost bins, though, Evergreen will have to expand its program. To do this they will probably have to hire some students to transport and process the food waste, and invest in more efficient technology. However, the more compost that is produced, the less the school has to spend on fertilizer and landfill fees, so they would be making some of their money back and maybe someday be making a profit.