This semester, as part of the Green Reps, I learned a lot about waste, recycling, and compost. As part of the program, I participated in a composting campaign and audit in the Dining Hall. This will be a two part blog, where I first talk about the problems of food waste, and then I'll share my experience volunteering in uOttawa's Dining Hall.  To start off, when I talk about food waste, I mean what is edible food that is not eaten, but instead is discarded into the compost or landfill. I am not talking about the smaller percentage of items that is inedible such as bones or banana peels.  How Bad is Food Waste Really? Food waste is one of the top contributors of greenhouses gasses and a huge source of emissions causing climate change. When food is wasted, it releases a gas called methane as it decomposes. This gas is extremely harmful to the atmosphere and has a large impact on the environment as well as the food supply chain, cost of food, and food security (Sanders, 2021). Wo...

Look, I know composting isn’t always easy, I sympathize as I have a hard time doing it myself, but the campus is trying to make it easier on you and all of us to do our part. Having an institution like uOttawa that has initiatives and programs in place saves a lot of organic matter from going to waste. Let’s start by talking about the rules/guidelines. What uOttawa does is extremely similar to the city of Ottawa’s guidelines, so they are very strong. They are so similar because we send our compost to the same facility as them. You’re likely recycling or throwing out numerous things that can actually go to compost! Here are all the things you should put in compost: All food scraps (fruits and vegetables, snack foods, nuts and shells, eggs, breads, meat and fish – including bones, salad dressing and sauces); Coffee grounds and tea bags; Disposable paper coffee cups (NO lids); Pizza boxes and other soiled paper-based take-out containers; Paper towels and tissues; Pet and human hair. ...

If there is one thing I've learned as a recycling coordinator at uOttawa is that when it comes to waste, the learning curve is very very steep. If for me, whose work involves going through garbage daily, correctly triaging my waste seems complicated, what about a student? As I yelled a curse-word at yet another mis-triaged bin, I started to wonder. Was the system too complicated or the people not informed as they should be? Or, do they just not care? My answer is “they do” seem to care...as long as the process is not so complex as to requiring them holding three masters degrees to understand it or taking an hour of their time to sort one item. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized framework or method”. The only drawback with this definition is that there is no indication to the amount of complexity people can handle. But, to no surprise, the more options you have, the more likel...

We were able to accomplish quite a bit last year to make our campus more sustainable! Take a look at some of the awesome things that happened, from transportation, to recycling, and more. Thank you, uOttawa students, staff, and community members, for helping us make our campus as green as it can be. Record Waste Diversion Rate The University has reached a record waste diversion rate of 64.5%! That means that 64.5% of materials from the campus did not go to the landfill because we reused or recycled them. Thank you for recycling! Thank you, volunteers! This year, our amazing volunteers contributed a collective 4,220 hours towards sustainability efforts on campus. Thank you to our Free Store volunteers, Muggy Mondays volunteers, and Community Service Learning volunteers, as well as those who helped out with other events. Your contributions are very valuable and appreciated.  Introducing VeloGo bike sharing program on campus  You may have seen thes...

A while back, I want to say maybe 5 or 6 years ago but I am a little fuzzy on the details, my colleague Brigitte and I resolved to create a very lofty goal for ourselves. We resolved to become a zero waste campus! What I am not fuzzy about was the reaction. Essentially laughter and disbelief. The Conversation Well here we are some time later and I am sitting in a meeting with the Director of Food Services and we are talking about the new Dining Hall. Patrick, he's the director I was talking about, is all excited about what he's got in store for the space. He's talking pasta bar, like fresh pasta bar, like there's a machine in the background making the pasta from the raw ingredients; he's talking a game room, like a bunch of new PlayStations or X-boxes set up for people to relax and enjoy themselves; he's talking a space where you make your own food... no joke, pots and pans and a pantry overflowing with food for you to do as you please. Now Patrick is g...

You could almost feel the tension blanket the entire office. For the past couple of days Brigitte, our waste diversion coordinator, would snap into her chair, quickly head over to the RecycleMania website, and then let out a little huff. The computer would diligently inform her that the results of the 2015 competition were still be tabulated. Great, another couple of hours before she could check again. It's kind of strange to think that we were a little nervous to get the results for RecycleMania this year. This certainly wasn't our first rodeo, uOttawa has been the Canadian champion for the past six years running. But this year, well this year we were hoping to set a personal best, We really wanted to set a new high point for ourselves. So ignore the title of this post for a moment and put yourself in our shoes. What could we do to engage the community? Well we ran a couple of fun events that I think were worth mentioning. Ugly Sweater Day Yes I know this isn't...