Compostable Coffee Cups

I know food waste recycling is available through Sanitary Services in town.  Everything they pick up in those receptacles gets composted.  I recently hosted a potluck for 25 students.  Because we subscribe to food waste recycling, we produced virtually no waste.  I'm so proud!  I also wonder about all the plastic bottles for individual serving drinks.  I wonder if there's less impact on the environment from paper products than there is even from recycling plastics.  Anyone know?

The market in the Viking Union building has a trash bin for composting.  I assume that other markets have them and I am pretty sure the dining halls do their best to recycle food waste.

Bellingham's Sustainable Connections has launched a campaign that challenges businesses to work toward zero waste. Businesses commit to an 80% or 50% reduction of waste. I think Western should do this too! We could start small in the markets and dining halls and maybe make it all the way around campus. I noticed in Arntzen there is a place to compost but it is just a converted trash can with a sign. I think the effort should be more explicit and aim to educate campus members.

http://www.sustainableconnections.org/bizdev/tzw/

First off, I understand the topic of this post and read what was has been written.  However, I found this the most appropriate post to share my coffee-drinking stories.  First off, when i transferred here as a Junior, I always bought coffee in those crappy little, burn-your-hand-off, cups.  By the time my first quarter had passed, I had learned about Bellingham's strong, outward effort at recycling EVERYTHING.  By then, i had bought my first reusable mug, from Dining Services, and proceeded to use that for my daily cup of Joe.

This has been the best "enabler" to my addiction since I started.  One refill is $1.07 (paying with Munch Money).  It is nearly $1.80 for a grande drip (in cash).  My advice though is to invest in a strong, stainless-still (only has to be on the insides), screw-top mug that you can throw in a back-pack or pouch.  After drinking out of hard-plastic mugs, they start to smell funky no matter how much you wash them.  Not to mention, my stomach goes bonkers after a cup in plastic, but is signifantly happier when I drink out of steel.  I don't know if it's worth it but to an addict, details are everything.  Lastly, drink from Tony's, they have the mildest, sweetest java on campus hands-down.  No grounds in the bottom of your cup like I get at the Starbucks-serving cafe's.

Best of Luck to those coffee aficionados out there.  By the way, compostable cups are a great idea.

I think everyone has made some great points. If we want to get Western involved in some of these waste reduction programs, and to get compost bins across campus, then we need to get our voices heard, right? If enough people make noise, somebody has to listen. President Shepard now has his own forum on here for discussion, maybe one good way to promote this would be to send him a message explain our concerns?

I agree with Connor that our voices need to be heard.  Western could help by giving clearer directions (posted signs or something) pointing students to the nearest composte or recycling bin.  In fact I think posted signs would help a lot of "fresh" students

Environmental awareness is something that as a transfer student I have become more familiar with at Western.  While I understand that it is frustrating to not have clearly labeled containers and places for things, it is important to realize that Western is paving the way among other universities.  Some don't have organized recycling at all or only at certain locations (usually unconveinent) so taking the little steps is getting us off to a great start.

Getting a little off topic, I'm not all that happy about the constant use of styrofoam outside the VU. I think it is called vendors' row...? I don't understand why an environmentally conscious university would allow this on their campus? How much more would it really cost to have a substitute container. Maybe give the students the choice of what their food comes in for whatever extra it costs. Just my two cents.

I think it's great that Dining Services is paring with WWU in order to serve our campus' needs and reflect our values. However, the move to compostable cups baffles me because the infrastructure is not there to support it. Simply: cold drink cups prior to the move were 100% recyclable, and since there are many, many recycling stations on campus, the cups stayed out of the trash. Now that there are only a few (I only know of one in the VU but I hope there is one in Artzen?) the vast majority of these cups are headed to the trash.

I feel like the intention was good, but the outcome isn’t serving our green values.
 

Coffee cups will not break down if you put them in the trash. There is no decomposition in the landfill. The only way they will break down is if they are composted. Currently, there is only one continually accessible location- in the VU Market seating area. Having more accessible compost locations is a great idea! If you would like to see more, please email a request to sustain@wwu.edu with where you’d like to see them. I’ll pass your desires on to the right folks!

Best,
Seth

Seth Vidaña, Coordinator
Office of Sustainability
Western Washington University
(360) 650-2491
seth.vidana@wwu.edu
www.wwu.edu/sustain
 

It seems obvious to me; wherever there is food sold (and food waste generated) there should be a sustainable outlet to dispose of any leftovers and compostable utensils/containers.