Campus composting will reduce waste and benefit environment

It’s that time of year when flowers are blossoming, the sun is poking its head out of the clouds and the mountain snows are melting, revealing green meadows. It is also the time when Mother Earth is given her rightful recognition with Earth Day.

But, Earth Day isn’t a special day unless humankind makes conscious effort to make positive changes toward a sustainable centered lifestyle.

This year, for Earth Day, The Advocate challenges its readers to embrace the idea of composting, in addition to recycling, to reduce garbage waste and urges the MHCC campus to consider the idea as well.

When Waste Management changed their garbage pick up from weekly to biweekly, some Portlanders, like the 14 who signed the, “Petition to Reverse Sam’s Forced Switch to Bi-Weekly Trash Pickup,” made a stink. One petitioner, Donna Fish, complained, “Come on, no one wants garbage sitting around for 14 days.”

Although many others share this sentiment, it simply does not have to be a problem. Honestly, with proper recycling and composting methods, it is not impossible for a family of three, with three cats, to reduce garbage pick-up to once a month, all while keeping the lid closed on the outdoor bin so the smell of the roses can waft across Portland driveways.

The key to garbage reduction is being disciplined in how we consume, eating healthier foods, reducing the amount of plastic and Styrofoam packaging, and in how we treat our waste; and these don’t require a massive life-style change. A majority of modern food, packaging is recyclable. When you open canned food, the cans can be recycled. The boxes that cereal, microwave meals and other dry good foods come in are often made of cardboard and can be recycled. Some plastics, such as milk jugs and larger plastic containers, can also be thrown into your blue bin.

Recycling alone won’t make your garbage disappear; composting makes a great environmental complement. When you compost, you take food scraps, grass clippings, leaves, etc. and turn them into a nutrient rich soil. Here are three ways that people in the Portland metro area can become composters:

1. Put your table scraps, food prep waste, yard debris and paper products into the green bin provided by Waste Management. If your waste management service doesn’t provide a composting bin, contact the provider for other composting options.

2. Buy a composter and compost the same materials at home. The Home Depot sells an 80-gallon model for around $60.

3. Use lasagna gardening techniques. Lasagna gardening is when layers of food waste, dirt, leaves and other organic materials are layered on top of each other and then allowed to decompose into rich soil.

If you’re uncertain of what you can or cannot compost, the website www.compostinstructions.com provides a comprehensive guide to how to compost and the benefits of composting.

The MHCC campus could also benefit from composting. The school does well maintaining a recycling program, but compost material, such as food waste, seems to get thrown out with the trash. Chartwell’s, MHCC’s on-campus cafeteria, uses compostable plates, but these just get thrown into the trash.

There are more than enough areas on campus that could maintain a compost bin, such as the empty stretches of dirt between the north end of the Academic Center and the automotive department. The mineral-rich soil produced could be used to fertilize, naturally, the landscaping around campus.

Just like this earth, this campus needs to be maintained for future generations. A combination of recycling and composting can make a significant impact on how much trash is hauled off our campus. Reducing the landfill needs will have a tremendous impact on our environment. Having to maintain fewer landfills, using home-made fertilizers and scheduling fewer garbage pick-ups will have a tremendous impact on our wallets.

And with all that extra cash, we can give the earth the celebration she deserves.