On March 15, the Associated Students of Linfield College office will be announcing this year’s Wildstock performer.

While Wildstock offers students a chance to wind down, relax, and blow off some steam before cramming for their finals, this year Linfield College welcomes several new additions to the event in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability.

Partnering with Prosource Bag L.L.C and Recology, Linfield College will be supplying the Wildstock event with compostable silverware, plates, and cups.

By purchasing compostable products for Linfield students to use when enjoying Thai Country, Rib Slayer, or any of the other local restaurants which cater the event, Linfield College plans to educate the student body on the importance of minimizing their waste stream while moving forward towards a more sustainable zero waste campus.

Roughly three and a half miles south of Linfield College, the Riverbend Landfill run by Waste Management gathers trash from surrounding cities in the Pacific Northwest.

With the Riverbend Landfill in such close proximity to Linfield College, students are given the rare opportunity to see directly where their waste goes and the impact that it has on a community with a rich agricultural history.

Back in May of 2013, The Department of Environmental Quality announced its approval of the Riverbend Landfill’s controversial plan to increase its capacity by building a mechanically-stabilized earthen berm to rise 40-feet along the highway side of the landfill.

With many farmers and community members in opposition of the growth, McMinnville’s best option now seems to be how can we minimize our waste stream.

Also, what steps are we willing to take to do so?

For those interested, The Riverbend Landfill, offers daily tours of the site for individuals to stop by and learn more about the landfill itself and ways in which Waste Management is working to slow its growth.

Along with the procurement of compostable product ware for Wildstock, McMinnville Water & Light will be providing water fill stations for the event.

With the implementation of these stations, students are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottles as there will be a limited number of compostable cups.

For more information surrounding Wildstock 2014 and its collaboration with The Office of Sustainability, check out www.linfield.edu/sustainability.

Duncan Reid / Office of Sustainability

The Office of Sustainability can be reached at [email protected]