This year Linfield took sustainability to a whole new level when it comes to having zero waste and feeding local pigs, with the Zero Waste Project.
The goal of the Zero Waste Project is to keep as much waste out of the Riverbend Landfill and make our campus waste go to zero.
Ducan Reid, Linfield’s sustainability coordinator, has been a major influence in helping Linfield start composting. Not only does Linfield compost, but the compost from our school is picked up on a weekly basis and sent to a local pig farm.
The pig farm processes the compost by heating it up to kill potentially harmful bacteria and run under a magnet to make sure there is no metal that could harm the pigs.
Once the pigs are past adolescence they are sent to Karlton Farms, located in Yamhill Valley, where they are prepared for grocery stores.
At the moment, there are only compost bins in dorm rooms where there are Green Chair students. Green Chair representatives take the compost to the bins located behind Dillin Hall.
Currently students on the Zero Waste Project are working on documenting how much our school composts.
They take a volume measurement, but that doesn’t mean everything in the compost belongs in it.
“It is going really well,” Reid said. “Success isn’t based on the amount, but the contamination of the compost.”
Green Chair position holders will look at the compost before it is put in the larger bins, but everyone is still learning what belongs in the compost and what doesn’t.
“We aren’t at the forefront, but I think we are doing very well,” said Reid. “In order to keep up we need to keep expanding.”
Reid would like to see Sodexo purchase all of its meat from local farms, like Karlton Farms. This would allow Linfield to not only feed the local pigs from our waste, but then purchase the pigs we are helping feed. But in order for Sodexo to purchase 100 percent of its meat from local farms they would need more money from students.
If your dorm doesn’t have a Green Chair representative, you can still participate in the Zero Waste Project.
There are compost bins located around campus, including one in Riley on the first floor, that are available for anyone to use.
Contact Duncan Reid, or the office of sustainability [email protected], to receive a pamphlet on what is compostable and most importantly, what is appropriate for pigs to eat.
Rachael Gernhart / Staff writer
Rachael Gernhart can be reached at
[email protected].
