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Waste Disposal: Recycling and Composting

The issue I picked to explore is waste disposal. Proper waste disposal is important to living a sustainable lifestyle. I selected this topic so that I could learn how to make Ohio State more sustainable. The policies for recycling and composting are different from community to community. There are barriers that people need to overcome to be able to recycle and compost.

Root Causes and Challenges

• Lack of accessibility to recycling and composting utensils
• Recycling is inconvenient
• No time to clean and transport recyclables
• No time to compost
• Forgetfulness
• Ignorance/lack of knowledge
• People do not think recycling or composting makes a difference
• People do not think it is important
• People do not understand how composting and recycling benefits the environment
• People do not see immediate consequences of failing to recycle, so they do not make an association between their wasteful habits and the harm they bring to the environment.
• Limited outdoor space for composting
• Pests and smells that composting is associated with

Current Policies Addressing Waste Disposal

The United States does not have policies that mandate recycling. It has policies about proper landfill waste disposal and it talks about how to recycle and what recycling does. America relies on state or local governments to take care of waste disposal and recycling.

The Ohio State Community has a goal to have zero waste by 2025. This means that 90% of waste is kept from going to landfills. Ohio State finds it important to provide people with the knowledge and opportunities to recycle, compost, and prevent wasteful habits. Ohio State provides campus with recycling bins, cardboard bailers, pulper systems, and a bio-digester.

10 Actions an Individual Can Take to make an Impact with Reducing Waste

1. Trade out paper towels for air dry and cloth towel drying. *
2. Get advice and permission to set up a compost system for your living area. *
3. Educate yourself on the recycling and composting policies of cities that you normally live in or visit. *
4. Spend 5 days using your normal habits of waste disposal (keep all trash), then spend 5 days working hard to use no materials that will go to a landfill (keep all things that aren’t recycled or composted). Compare the differences in your trash- you will see a little bit of effort does make a difference. *
5. Make your own tooth paste *
6. Educate your neighborhood on what can be composted and what cannot (do the same with recycling)
7. Purchase food that you know you will eat- do not buy food you will end up throwing away.
8. Separate food waste from non-food waste and take it to an anaerobic digestion facility
9. Donate your clothes and purchase them from second-hand stores
10. Bring your own cup when you go out- do not purchase drinks in non-recyclable/compostable materials

The Ohio State University Composting

• Sometimes napkins, paper towels, and tissues
• Pulper systems- turn food waste to biomass for biogas for electricity
• Bio-digester- food waste made into greywater effluent for safe disposal/reduce landfill material

Hailey Perkins has recruited me to help floor 10 of Morrill Tower get a composting system. We have spoken to Carlos Lugo, program manager for sustainability at Ohio State. He has given us the contact information of students who have started tiny composting projects in Blackburn and Scott House. Carlos also talked to us about Ohio State’s agenda for sustainability.

Recommendations for Taking Action

Starting a program for recycling or composting is hard. Consult people who oversee sustainability for the area you are targeting. Also talk to people who have started their own recycling or composting system. Get advice on how you should implement your program. There are more factors to starting a recycling or composting program than just buying a bin. You must address pests, smells, improper disposal, and other issues. The more people you consult, the more successful your program can be.

If you feel that starting a program is too much to handle, work on your own habits and make them more sustainable. A little effort goes a long way. Cut out waste from your week by avoiding the use of paper towels, not buying water in plastic bottles, or making your own toothpaste. If you feel one action was too easy, start another sustainable habit. Small changes can make a difference.

Handout

Waste Disposal: Recycling and Composting

Maggie Eding  eding.2@osu.edu

The issue that I have picked to explore is waste disposal. I selected this topic so that I could learn what should be recycled, composted, or thrown in the trash. The root causes of people not using sustainable waste disposal include lack of accessibility to proper waste disposal tools, lack of knowledge on recycling/composting, believing recycling and composting do not make a difference, and lack of time to keep up with a recycling/composting system.

• The Ohio State University is currently addressing waste disposal. They aim to be a zero-waste university by 2025.
• Recommendations for Taking Action
  • Seek help and advice from others when you start your own recycling or composting program. The more people you consult, the more successful your program can be.
  • If you feel that a program is too much to handle, try to create a sustainable habit. A little effort goes a long way.

 

Works Cited

City of Sylvania Refuse, Recyclables and Green Yard Waste Collections. The City of Sylvania, www.cityofsylvania.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Refuse_and_recycling-general_rules_02212017.pdf.

“Composting and Recycling.” University Dining Services, The Ohio State University, dining.osu.edu/sustainability/composting-and-recycling/.

“Composting At Home.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Mar. 2017, www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home.

“Recycling.” Recycling | Facilities Operations and Development, The Ohio State University, fod.osu.edu/sustainability/projects-and-services/recycling.

“Recycolumbus.” 311 Columbus Recycling FAQ, The City of Columbus, www.columbus.gov/uploadedfiles/Public_Service/Refuse_Collection/RecyColumbus/311%20Columbus%20Recycling%20FAQs%20updated%2010-24-12.pdf.

Schumaker, Erin. “The Psychology Behind Why People Don’t Recycle.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 3 Aug. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/psychology-of-why-people-dont-recycle_us_57697a7be4b087b70be605b3.

Wendeln, Jen. “’I Want to Compost, but…’.” Sustainable America Blog, Sustainable America, 3 June 2014, www.sustainableamerica.org/blog/i-want-to-compost-but/.

“Why No National Recycling Law in the U.S.?” Business Ethics, 21 Nov. 2010, business-ethics.com/2010/11/21/why-no-national-recycling-law-in-the-u-s/.

I am currently undecided in my career exploration process. I am still in the exploratory program at The Ohio State University. I have spent the last semester researching majors and going to listen to speakers from the colleges within Ohio State. Before college I had no idea what I wanted to do, but now I have a few options that I am considering for majors. Currently at the top of my major choices are City and Regional Planning and Geographic Information Science. During my second semester, I am taking classes for City and Regional Planning to see if I should pursue it as a major. I want to be able to use my creativity and organizational skills in my career. I also want to be able to work outside because I love to immerse myself in nature.

As an undecided major, I have already gone through the Holland Code workshop. From both workshops, I got the same results. I learned that I am realistic, investigative, and conventional. I love to organize and plan projects, be hands-on, and be extremely detailed. Cartographer, Surveyor, Geographic Information Systems Technician, Food Scientist, Electrical Engineer, Geospatial Information Scientist, Environmental Engineer, Civil Drafter, Police Identification and Records Officer, and Fire Investigator are some careers that O*Net recommends.

One of my current paths comes up with my code. This path is the Geographic Information Science major which corresponds to the code career, Geographic Information Systems Technician. Even though that is the only career that perfectly matches my top two major choices, all the other careers that come up with my code require similar skills that my major choices require. Most of the jobs I saw interested me. I know my code is correct because the jobs that showed up are in line with the majors I have considered pursuing.

My current academic plans are to pursue a bachelor’s degree along with a minor that can help specify my major. Although I do not know what major I want to pursue, I have an idea that it will deal with mapping, surveying, planning, or something that includes organized creative projects. Almost every career that showed up on the Holland code careers matched these college major “requirements”. These apply to my current academic plans by providing me with more choices for careers that match what I want out of a job. The Holland code careers might help me decide the perfect career.

My next steps are to take classes next semester that deal with the majors that fit my “requirements” to see if I enjoy what the majors are about. After I confirm that I enjoy the major from the class, I will no longer be undecided. I know what I am interested in. Now all I need is experience to see if the major fits the description. After I declare a major, I will work toward a more specific career or find a minor that could correlate with my major.

My first strength is humor which is the strength of liking to laugh and making other people smile. Humorous people see the optimistic side of any situation. In second, is kindness. Kindness is the strength of doing good deeds and helping others. Kind people feel that others are all important human beings. They have moral reasoning as to why they show sympathy and empathy towards people. My next strength is zest. Zest is a strength about living life to the fullest with excitement and energy. Zest deals with personal wellness that in turn leads to life satisfaction. My fourth strength is leadership. Leadership is the ability to organize a group to accomplish something and at the same time build relationships within the group. Leadership is made through personal quality and practice. My last strength is appreciation of beauty and excellence which is the ability to notice skill or beauty in certain aspects of life. This relates specifically to physical beauty, talents, and moral beauty.

I would have put honesty and perspective closer to the top of the list of strengths. I do not like cheating or lying. I always feel obligated to tell the truth. Also, I do value other people’s opinions and I do not judge until I understand why someone has done something. Otherwise I found my top five and last four results to be in an accurate order.

I have used a combination of zest and leadership to be an effective leader of my high school’s marching band. As a drum major, it was both important to create relationships with everyone in the band and show how exciting and fun band could be. Leadership allowed me to create these relationships while zest allowed me to show how fun band was. I learned the names of everyone in our (quite large) band. I did this to make everyone feel that their contribution was important to the band. I helped make our performances wonderful and exciting at the same time.

I wish that forgiveness and humility were higher on the list. Once I see what bad things people are capable of, I do not see how they can change from being the person they were before. Also, I tend to let others know what I am capable of, leading me to not be humble. I am proud to be the person I am and sometimes I let it go to my head.

My favorite strength is humor. I think it really captures my personality. I truly do love to laugh- I have even told my friends that my favorite thing to do is laugh. Making people smile is one of the highlights of my day. I also have found two photos (below) that represent my top strength of humor.

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