University of Michigan hits milestone for student move-out donations, waste reduction
CBS News Detroit is taking a closer look at a pretty impressive accomplishment by the University of Michigan in reducing campus waste.
The university collected a record number of donated materials during spring student move-out and kept 90% of waste from commencement events out of landfills. Only 217 pounds of waste from U of M commencement events ended up in landfills, compared to the 1,850 pounds of compost they collected that now has an opportunity to be used again.
That compost ends up at places like Spurt Industries in Wixom, and it's made up of more than just food waste.
"Our plates, and our silverware, and our cups, and even the wrappers that our cookies come in. Everything is able to be composted at the end of the event," said Kenzie Winslow, program manager of the U of M Dining sustainability program.
That compost transforms into nutrient-rich soil, so instead of feeding us, it feeds plants.
"This would have otherwise gone to a landfill and produced excess methane, whereas here, that organic material is able to be combined in a specific blend to feed the microbes," said Spurt Industries soil scientist Doug Keto.
That finished product is used all across Southeast Michigan, from landscaping to gardening to filling the pots of plants back on the University of Michigan campus.
"It's really fun to see this big circle of life coming back to life on our campus," Winslow said.
As students moved out of the dorms in the spring, the university collected a whopping 32,000 pounds of clothing, household items, shoes, bedding, and nonperishable food, setting a new record for move-out donations.
"It's great that we got the record high amount, but it also got us thinking about how we can get some of these materials used more on campus in the fall. A lot of these materials, they have a lot of life left in them," said UM Office of Campus Sustainability and Innovation program manager Alison Richardson.
One way they hope to do that is by saving some items over the summer and making them available at the campus's free store, so students can use what's already here instead of bringing in new items in the fall.
