Sustainability Festival at BU

So, today was BU's annual Sustainability Festival! It was a great, sunny afternoon filled with free things and promotion of sustainable practice. Marsh Plaza was completely filled with tents offering free things like metal (BU emblazened) coffee thermoses, bike raffles, bike lights, kettlecorn, Stonyfield organic yogurt, compost from our own dining hall's food waste (sounds gross, but it was actually very fertile-looking ;]), promotion booths for environmental clubs and activities, biking clubs, and Global Brigades.

The BU Farmer's Market also set up camp, as they do every Thursday afternoon (a special treat for me to visit after calculus!)!!! The usual booths were there, featuring:
- Local farmers' vegetables and fruits (in-season berries are wonderful)
- Taza Direct-Trade chocolate
- A Vegan cookie stand (carotoons!)
- Danish Pastry House (great sticky buns)
- Sugared nuts
- Sustainable honey
- Maple Syrup
- Tons more, I can't even remember it all

Taza's Direct Trade Chocolate, more on this sustainable practice later!

DELICIOUS Sticky Buns, SO worth my money!

Raffling off bike lights, free local pizza, and other things!

Vegan Cookie Ingredients: organic and local

So obviously, I was in heaven, sampling cashews, macaroons and chili-chocolate alike.

(From left to right) Recycle, Landfill, Compost (2)

I also got to work at the fair! For the past few weeks, I've been putting in hours on GreenTeam, a group focused on promoting proper recycling habits on campus. At the dining halls, there are clusters of four waste receptacles: one for landfill, one for recycling, and two for compost!

My job is to teach students how to properly make distinctions between waste components, aiding them in sorting their food waste after meals. We actually compost mostly everything, ALL food waste, plastic containers/cups/utensils made of biodegradable corn oil, and containers made of pulpy fiber. The only cups/containers that AREN'T compostable are those from Starbucks, chip bags, and name-brand products. One of many reasons why I don't buy those things; I can't support that willingly.

And there's a reason why there are TWO compost bins, and only one for landfill and recycling each: we barely use the landfill and recycling bins!!! :D
One day, in the three hours I worked, the compost bins got full and emptied THRICE, while the landfill never even reached half-full. AMAZING progress, when you see the inordinate amount of food waste people have. Every bit truly does make a difference.

What struck me the most about this experience was the tolerance and willingness of students and teachers alike in regards to these composting efforts. Everyone was so respectful, and really made an effort to make the counter-intuitive choice to be responsible and compost their plastic. It was a WONDERFUL change to what I've seen in the past. Education truly is key, I noticed a huge difference between the first day of cafeteria work, and the next two weeks. And everyone I spoke to agreed that, while it's a bit of a hassle and change to sort waste after eating, it's totally worth the results.


And local Massachusetts farmers who receive our leftovers are just as happy to get nutrient-dense compost as we are to supply it! :D Win-win situations!