Organics
CSUN has an important role to play as an educator and responsible party in the efforts to reduce the quantity of food waste produced and the shipment of organic waste off campus.
Main Strategies
- Reduce quantity of organic waste
- Educate students and the campus community about food waste
- Continue to develop the CSUN Organic Food Garden as an educational resource
- Develop and manage campus grounds using sustainability practices
Objectives for 2023
- Reduce quantity of food waste by 15% by 2015 and by 50% by 2023
- Reduce quantity of other green waste by 50% by 2018 and 80% by 2023
- Conduct on-site composting to generate organic fertilizer for use on campus grounds
- Gain recognition as a Tree Campus USA
- Re-use waste vegetable oil
- Fully develop Organic Food Garden which provides educational and research opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the surrounding community.
2020-21 Priorities and Outcomes
- Ensure all green waste is being transported to The PILE rather than placed in the landfill dumpsters to guarantee it is being processed correctly.
- All green waste generated by the PPM Grounds department is processed at The PILE Green Waste from the University Student Union is placed in green waste bins and picked up by CSUN's waste hauler. Green waste from Student Housing is also being picked up by CSUN's waste hauler, and the option of bringing Housing's green waste to The PILE is being explored.
- Seek external funding to expand food waste composting.
- The Institute applied for a $2,500 LA Compost Community composting project grant.
Other Highlights
- CSUN is exploring a "composting as a service" model for the Geronimo's dining facility at Student Housing. This aerobic digester would process all of the facility's food waste, saving money on waste hauling fees, and generating valuable compost on-site.
- CSUN gained recognition as a Bee Campus USA for the third year in a row (Pending recognition). As part of this recognition the university has established a Bee Campus USA committee, created and enhanced pollinator habitats on campus, installed signage focused on pollinator conservation, offered educational opportunities that incorporate pollinator conservation, and maintained an online presence for our Bee Campus USA activities.
- CSUN was recognized as a Tree Campus USA for the 7th year in a row. View CSUN's updated Urban Forest Management Plan.
- Graduate Student and Institute for Sustainability Biodiversity Assistant Richard Rachman completed a biodiversity assessment of the Institute's Food Garden. He presented his findings in a webinar which can be viewed here.
- The Institute received funding from USDA in partnership with Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA) to develop and facilitate the Agroecology, Farming & Food Pathways (AFFP) program to explore a career in agriculture and earn a Certificate in Applied Agroecology. Two cohorts were offered this year that included guest presentations, hands-on farm training, local farm visits, and networking with farmers.
- CSUN's Sustainable Food Garden, home to over 100 species of flora and fauna, has been recognized as a “Certified Wildlife Habitat” by the National Wildlife Federation.
- In partnership with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) and CSUN Physical Plant Management (PPM), the Institute for Sustainability planted a new community food forest and orchard adjacent to the Sustainable Food Garden. The new 1/4-acre orchard features a variety of 50 fruit trees. Over the last year, this space has been transformed into a "regenerative urban ecosystem" lab that includes California native plants donated by local organizations, niche experimental crops like coffee, and teaching areas with community gathering spaces that will host workshops, urban farming classes, and urban biodiversity seminars.
2021-22 Priorities
- Provide signage for all compost receptacles clearly indicating allowed materials.
- Provide signage at all eating establishments regarding food waste.
- Establish two new pollinator habitats on campus.
- Increase student involvement in the on-campus green waste composting process.
- Develop a tracking method for on-campus compost applications from The P.I.L.E.
- Provide educational signage at the Institute Food Garden and Orchard.
Other
Collect and Record Waste Data
Issue:
OG1.1
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Collect and record all current waste from campus dining facilities for baseline data, set targets, and measure progress.
Status:
Campus Composting is collecting organic waste from Juice It Up, G'Mos, and Freudian Sip. Weight is taken for all of these items. Roughly 1,300lbs a week.
All waste data is now be tracked through the "Campus Waste and Recycling Tracking" Spreadsheet.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going.
Compost Receptacles
Issue:
OG1.2
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Collect and record all current waste from campus dining facilities for baseline data, set targets, and measure progress
Status:
Campus Composting is collecting organic waste from Juice It Up, G'Mos, and Freudian Sip. Weight is taken for all of these items. Roughly 1,300lbs a week. All waste data is now be tracked through the "Campus Waste and Recycling Tracking" Spreadsheet.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going.
Compostable/Reusable Containers
Issue:
OG1.3
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Use compostable or reusable food containers and utensils at all campus dining facilities wherever feasible
Status:
All Plates, Utensils, Cups and Containers (PUC’s) are compostable including Pepsi cups with the exception of hot soup containers. Franchises are excluded from this.
Party Responsible:
TUC, AS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Receptacles in Kitchens
Issue:
OG1.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Provide pre-consumer food waste receptacles inside all campus food preparation kitchens and collect daily.
Status:
There are currently bins at all Freudian Sip locations and at G'Mos student dining facility.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress. TUC needs to investigate the feasibility of rolling out this program to all TUC kitchens.
Coffee Grounds
Issue:
OG1.5
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Collect coffee grounds from all campus coffee shops and compost at campus garden.
Status:
Collecting all coffee grounds from Freudian Sips.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going. TUC to add the new F-Sip location next FY to this program.
Expand Compost Operations
Issue:
OG1.6
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Expand composting operation at campus garden to incorporate pre-consumer waste from all campus kitchens.
Status:
TUC will be including organics in new RFP.
Party Responsible:
TUC, IS, AS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Compost Waste Paper
Issue:
OG1.7
Priority:
No further action
Strategy:
Conduct pilot study to assess feasibility of composting waste paper from campus bathrooms
Status:
This will be feasible under the new waste RFP
Party Responsible:
PPM, AS, IS, TUC
Next/Action Items:
Need to discuss whether this is something the University wants to do.
In-Vessel Composter
Issue:
OG1.7
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Develop (or purchase) in-vessel composter to compost post-consumer waste from throughout campus
Status:
This was not a cost effective option for composting.
Party Responsible:
PPM, AS, IS, TUC
Next/Action Items:
No further action.
Biodiesel Converter
Issue:
OG1.9
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Research possible uses of biodiesel fuel on campus and if viable, purchase and install a
biodiesel converter
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS, EH&S
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Waste Vegetable Oil
Issue:
OG1.10
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Collect and process waste vegetable oil from campus kitchens into biodiesel.
Status:
A company picks up all the waste vegetable oil for the food services locations and converts it to biodiesel off site.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS, TUC
Next/Action Items:
On-going.
Food Waste Signage
Issue:
OG2.1
Priority:
No further action.
Strategy:
Provide signage at all eating establishments regarding wasting food
Status:
Waste hauler should provide signage for back of house kitchen composting. For post-consumer composting TUC will be developing signage for the bins.
Party Responsible:
PPM, AS, IS, TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Compost Receptacle Signage
Issue:
OG2.2
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Provide signage for all compost receptacles clearly indicating allowed substances.
Status:
Waste hauler should provide signage for back of house kitchen composting. For post-consumer composting TUC will be developing signage for the bins.
Party Responsible:
PPM, AS, IS, TUC
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Garden Internships
Issue:
OG2.3
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Expand student internship program in campus garden.
Status:
Interns are funded through the IS to maintain the garden and collect compostables.
Party Responsible:
IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going.
Student Compost Research
Issue:
OG2.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Provide additional research opportunities for students to study composting.
Status:
Geography 404 students sampled compost for fertility, particle size, etc. This course occurs once per year.
Party Responsible:
IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going: Vermicomposting opportunities to be added.
Greenhouse Storage Area
Issue:
OG3.1
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Install a greenhouse/storage area for research and projects
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Outdoor Classroom
Issue:
OG3.2
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Install seating for an outdoor classroom
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Work Area
Issue:
OG3.3
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Install seating for a work area for planting, washing and harvesting produce
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Garden Budget
Issue:
OG3.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Establish an annual maintenance budget for the organic food garden
Status:
There is funding through IS for student workers, but there is no materials budget for the garden.
Party Responsible:
IS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Expand Compost Area
Issue:
OG3.5
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Establish sufficient space for the compost area.
Status:
Application submitted for an IRA grant for improving/expanding the compost area.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Horticulture Class
Issue:
OG3.6
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Assess interest in and feasibility of offering a sustainable horticulture or other gardening
class.
Status:
Under consideration.
Party Responsible:
IS, LSP, Tseng
Next/Action Items:
In-progress.
Liquid Fertilizer
Issue:
OG4.1
Priority:
2
Strategy:
Conduct research to generate liquid fertilizer/compost tea from organic waste
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Use/Sell Compost
Issue:
OG4.2
Priority:
3
Strategy:
Establish program to use compost on campus grounds and distribute/sell excess compost
Status:
No action taken.
Party Responsible:
PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
No action taken.
Tree Inventory
Issue:
OG4.3
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Maintain and utilize campus tree inventory (GIS) for managing tree maintenance.
Status:
Tree Inventory is maintained by PPM Grounds and FPDC.
Party Responsible:
FPDC, PPM, IS
Next/Action Items:
On-going.
Landscape and Native Plants
Issue:
OG4.4
Priority:
1
Strategy:
Investigate options for reducing areas of irrigated landscape and introducing native plants.
Status:
PPM has created a preferred plant list for the campus.
Turf removal and replacement with drought tolerant plantings and native plants.
Housing is removing sprinklers and replacing plants with native, drought tolerant.
Party Responsible:
FPDC, PPM
Next/Action Items:
Continue with turf removal and replacing with drought tolerant vegetation.
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