Linfield students to launch campus-wide Zero Waste

education initiative
By Helen Lee, Noah Berg & Davis Pitner
October 20, 2016

McMinnville, OR Three Linfield students will begin working with the Office of
Sustainability in October to meet campus-wide Zero Waste goals. Advocacy efforts will
focus on diverting more campus recycling and compost from the local landfill and
educating students about the methods and importance of Zero Waste practices.

At Linfield, students come from many different communities that have various recycling
systems, Sustainability Coordinator Duncan Reid said. That is why it is important that
we focus on educating our students about how to participate in our system correctly."

Approximately 44 percent of what is being thrown away from Linfield residence halls
could have been recycled or composted. According to Reid, changing this behavior
could increase the schools waste diversion rate from 55 percent to 75 percent.

The education initiative will include videos about waste diversion, waste stream analysis
and recycling presentations by Green Chairs in residence halls, and Zero Waste
infographics around campus.

Ongoing Zero Waste projects

Linfield made one of its first significant steps toward Zero Waste in 2008 with the
introduction of a co-mingling recycling system. Since then, the college has implemented
new recycling and composting bins on campus, a composting effort in Dillin Hall, and
increased Zero Waste signage at key events like WildStock and Luau.

Other projects being considered or developed by the Office of Sustainability include

centralized recycling in academic buildings and removing trash cans from classrooms,
as well as extending the compost program to include all on-campus apartments.

Contact

To learn more about this initiative or schedule an interview, please contact Helen Lee at
helee@linfield.edu.

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