Social Sustainability

Social Sustainability is the dimension of sustainability concerned with the well-being and longevity of a community. A community is made up of people as well as the places where they live; it is both a social environment and a physical environment. Work to improve social environments is nothing new, yet social sustainability is often the least well-known dimension of sustainability. Nonetheless, we live in a linked system of humans and nature. You cannot solve environmental issues without considering humans and vice versa. The Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development defines Social Sustainability as:

Concerning how individuals, communities and societies live within each other and set out to achive the objectives of development models which they have chose for themselves, also taking into account the physical boundaries of their places and planet earth as a whole. At a more operational level, social sustainability stems from actions in key thematic areas, encompassing the social realm of individuals and societies, which ranges from capacity building and skill development to environmental and spatial inequalities. In this sense, social sustainability blends traditional social policy areas and principles, such as equity and health, with emerging issues concerning participation, needs, social capital, the economy, the environment, and more recently, with the notions of happiness, wellbeing, and quality of life.

Ultimately, we live in a complex social-ecological system. Sustainability and more specifically sustainable development mean understanding this system as a whole while pursuing two main goals: human development and well-being and protection of the Earth’s life support systems. Tight links exist between ecological systems, poverty, and development (Robertson, 2021).

UM Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science: Dr. Marvin P. King, Jr.

Dr. Marvin King Jr. is an assistant professor of Political Science and holds a joint appointment with African American Studies here at the University of Mississippi. He has authored and co-authored several socially sustainable publications on racial polarization in the electorate, representation of the black electorate, and the effect of race in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dr. King has also initiated the Garden Club at Ole Miss, sits on the Oxford Parks Commission, serves as an advisor to the Honors College, and is the Senior Fellow of the South Residential College. Dr. Marvin King is currently working on research addressing political inequality and how income and wealth inequality affects our politics. He also is looking at the work of the Mississippi state legislature and legislative staff diversity. We conducted a brief interview with Dr. King not only to introduce our readers to faculty on campus that work toward social sustainability but also to inspire subscribers to take sustainable action in our community and pursue new information.

First, we asked Dr. King how he understands sustainability and he said, “Like a lot of Folks, I have a lot to learn about sustainability. I consider myself an active learner though. I keep a lookout for sustainability news and share it with my students in order to encourage conversation and sharing of information. They learn from me and I learn from them.” Then he explains social sustainability and relates it to his campus garden experience, “Social sustainability is community building and in order to have strong communities, it helps to have things that bring us together. What brings people closer together than food?” he suggests. “I wish there were dozens of gardens on campus, mine shouldn’t be unique,” but “sustainability needs to be normalized so it isn’t anything special. It should be, ‘of course you have a tower garden, everybody does.”  He also emphasized that solutions to social sustainability should look different for every community, “every community is different, some are facing water scarcity, others are dealing with industrial pollution.” Therefore, he suggests that the solution is within “empowering communities to solve their own environmental problems.”

Dr. King believes that “Inertia-people settling into the status quo” is the biggest challenge to social sustainability work. He explained that the status quo is “not good enough, we have to move people.” He describes one way to do this is for students to get organized and ask hard questions like, “Why is it so hard to maintain a garden on campus?” He says, “we need that groundswell of support from students and then you can move the needle.” Dr. King’s suggested first step is to organize and “start a petition to get a campus garden in every dorm…it’s the inertia that keeps it from happening.” He wants to see students pushing for what they want to see and specifically, ” think about sustainability when voting at ASB and make student leaders make sustainability a priority. Then administrators, those who write budgets might listen and have to justify their inertia.” He explains, “It’s easy to maintain inertia when you don’t have to justify it.” It’s time for the younger generation to step up and become leaders, “the older generations’ moment of leadership has passed them by and they no longer deserve leadership on sustainability. The next generation has to sustain the effort to make sustainability a priority. I don’t think older generations deserve to be leaders, I mean we don’t have the results to back it up.”

Come back next month where we will dive into Economic Sustainability!

-Story Written By OOS Project Manager, Kathryn Kidd

About The Three Dimensions of Sustainability Column

Fig. 1: Frequency of papers published that include sustainability or sustainability in the bibliographic records over time (Kajikawa et. al 2014)

Sustainability made its grand entrance into American culture alongside the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s. In the past 20 years, we have seen a considerable uptick in publications on ‘sustainability’ (Fig. 1) and it has rapidly transformed into distinct fields of study (i.e. Sustainability Science & Sustainable Development). Within its brief 50 years of study sustainability’s meaning has been highly scrutinized, redefined, and refined.

Sustainability in the broadest sense means the ability of something to maintain or “sustain” itself over time. Academically, its precise definition has varied from person to person, field to field, but by and large, all definitions include three distinct “dimensions”: social, economic, and environmental. Some academics call these dimensions the three pillars, three components, or three aspects and make attempts to diagram this broad topic (Fig. 2). When attempting to define sustainability academics have found themselves teetering back and forth between vagueness and incomprehensibility. It’s no wonder people get confused!

Fig. 2: Common Sustainability Diagrams. Left, three intersecting circles, Right, literal ‘pillars’ and a concentric circle approach.

It is important to have a strong understanding of sustainability in order to make meaningful progress towards it. Without fully understanding what sustainability is and is not, we run the risk of trivialization and manipulation by those who have something to gain from its misunderstanding. I am sure we all can recall a company that has used sustainability buzz words to grab our attention while they stand behind their Green Washed curtain perpetuating the unsustainable status quo. This is why for the Spring 2022 semester, the Office of Sustainability will be tackling the meaning behind the three dimensions of sustainability. We will review the key points of each dimension as well as interview professors on campus that we believe will help contextualize each dimension of sustainability. We hope to leave you with resources to learn more, campus-specific examples of each dimension, and actions you can take to work toward sustainability.

Our office defines sustainability as:

A multi-disciplinary, problem-solving approach to creating a social system that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the needs of future generations or the needs of the ecological system in which huamsn exist.

By fostering education that encourages reponsible and equitable management of our envrionmental, social and economic resources, the sustainability framework challenges our university to consider the interdependent nature of our lives, the natural environment, our communities and the economy and especially the improvement of these relationships.

Key Terms:

1. Sustainable Development-development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Robertson, 2021)
2. Sustainability Science-a field of study devoted to tackling the challenges of sustainable development in the transition toward sustainability. This field is interdisciplinary, defined by the problems it addresses rather than by the disciplines it employs. (Kates, 2010)

Resources & Recommended Reading:

Kates, Robert W., ed. Readings in Sustainability Science and Technology. CID Working Paper No. 213. Center for International Development, Harvard University, December 2010.

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability Principles and Practice Third Edition. Routledge, Abingdon, OX & Routledge, New York, NY. 2021

Office of Sustainability Newsletter Interview – January 2022

Ian Banner, Director of the Office of Sustainability

Interview conducted by Kathryn Kidd

Ian Banner is the director of the Office of Sustainability, director of Facilities Planning, & university architect at the University of Mississippi. Ian has provided us with a brief update on sustainable progress at UM while reflecting on his lifelong career in sustainability and architecture.

Ian Banner became the director of the Office of Sustainability in 2012 and has a rich background in architecture. He grew up in the small village of Langham, located in a rural part of eastern England. At the age of 18, he left school and went to work in an architects’ office in Peterborough. He stated, “the building I worked in was the seventeenth-century Archdeaconry House in the grounds of Peterborough Cathedral. It really fired my aspirations to become an architect.”

He worked in Peterborough for 3 years where he was able to study building construction technology via a “day release” program offered by his employer. He went on to study Architecture at Plymouth and Cambridge Universities and eventually settled in the United States following several short visits while in college. A general architectural education led him to specialize in environmental issues and energy-efficient design. A major topic of his study focused on “designing with nature as opposed to taking a machine-driven approach to overpower the natural environment.”

Throughout his career, he has been fortunate enough to work in teaching, research, and architectural practice. For the last seventeen years, he has worked here at the University of Mississippi as the university architect, director of Facilities Planning (as of 2006), and director of the Office of Sustainability (as of 2012). Ian explained that in his career he regards “environmental responsibility in design as hugely important, and minimizing our global construction footprint remains central to what I do each day.”

Ian is currently responsible for the design and construction of the new STEM building, which itself will feature sustainability measures. This building is under construction just south of Hume Hall. According to Ian,

“This is a large, 4 story building with over 200,000 square feet of interior space. The building is important for 2 reasons. First, it has been designed for its specific site with careful attention to its place in the world regarding orientation, admission of natural light, and efficient systems to ventilate and admit fresh air for its occupants. Second, and of the greatest importance, will be its ability to provide a place for young scientists to learn about their environment, to progress, and to become leaders themselves. Hopefully, this building will support and contribute in the regard for many years to come.”

When asked about his work at the university, Ian often circled back to the importance of the social impacts. He said that he is proud of the University of Mississippi for enabling the design and construction of several buildings over the last fifteen years that are considered ‘energy-efficient.’ He explained that publicizing these successes is beneficial; not for professional advancement or gratification, but “because our environment benefits from students talking about sustainability, efficiency, and social responsibility. As they graduate and move out into the world, many as leaders, their influence in designing and building a healthy world cannot be understated.” He explains his pride isn’t “in a sustainability-related building project like the Law School, or the Science Building.” Instead, he finds pride in “the positive power of the potential influence of the people who leave here.”

When asked about his most important lessons learned at the university, Ian responded: “listen–we might just learn something!”

He explained he is “always surprised how many people there are at UM who are making amazing contributions to an improved natural environment. These people are teachers, researchers, students, and staff. They turn up in unexpected places and are making significant contributions.” 

Our interview came to a close with one final question: what advice do you have for people working for sustainable progress?

“Don’t give up. There are serious environmental issues out there. Your generation has inherited them which is unfair. But they are there to be solved through your ingenuity, creativity, and tenacity. Don’t underestimate the positive effect of the individual. We all have valuable contributions to make individually and as teams.”

Sustainable projects, like the construction of the science building, provide physical examples of progress for our campus, but Ian reminds us to pay attention to the social impacts. While harder to spot or define, social impacts may have the largest ripple effects. Listen closely to those around you and never underestimate your contributions, as positive sustainable change can come from anywhere.

-Story by OOS Project Manager, Kathryn Kidd

Gifts at the OXCM

A drive through Oxford in late November is a moving picture of colors and Christmas. From the spectrum of fall leaves embellishing the Ole Miss campus to the luminescence of Christmas lights decorating the historic Square, the intrinsic charm of Oxford during the holiday season is something that you can’t help but come back to. Like ornaments adorning this picturesque image, Oxford’s many local restaurants, shops, and groups decorate the city in a unique charm. Rooted in that charm is the Oxford Community Market (OXCM), illuminating the craftsmanship and hard work of local vendors and farmers alike. The market features the best local produce for every season. From summer’s hibiscus, to fall pumpkins, and carrots in winter, you can always find fresh and locally sourced produce perfect for any dish or celebration. While a trip to the Market offers a wonderful opportunity to shop local, it is equally as likely that you will meet and talk to some amazing local vendors–focusing their businesses on the intersectionality between accessibility and sustainability. The result paints a portrait of community in a way that is hard to recreate elsewhere.

“The market is on Tuesdays, but the community is every day,” Valley of Giants owner Nathan Richardson aptly puts it. While community members can visit and shop at the Oxford Community Market every Tuesday at the Old Armory Pavilion, OXCM has engagement in the community throughout the week. From the neighborhood resilience garden to food days, and weekly meal deliveries, OXCM is a hub that sets the stage for all sorts of positive activity aiming to address larger, systemic issues of health and food insecurity. What makes OXCM so unique is that aspect of “community,” attracting vendors, community members, and students alike, all engaging around common interests. As owner Betsy describes it, “community is at the heart of the market…building support for the entire local food [and social] system.” There are countless opportunities for people to bring their own skills and ideas to the table and to implement them in ongoing community projects.

Even on a smaller scale, one does not have to undertake any large or ambitious project to make a difference within the community. It is possible to support your local businesses and food systems while also getting your holiday shopping done and OXCM is a great place to start. OXCM is currently hosting its annual Holly Jolly Holiday series. For the first three Market Tuesdays in December, farmers will be there with late fall and winter produce that people can use for their holiday meals. Keeping with the holiday spirit, vendors will have special holiday items and packaging. Whether locally sourced foods, homemade goods, or gift packages, holiday items from OXCM make great, wholesome gifts. Buying your holiday gifts from the Market is truly a gift that keeps on giving, providing a meaningful gift to the recipient, a good holiday experience for the shopper, and a sense of community support and boosted repertoire for local vendors.

For more information, follow Oxford Community Market on Social Media

-Story by GSIP Intern Allegra Latimer

The United States neighbors an uncharted island that is twice the size of Texas. Between Hawaii and California, this island is unrestrained, untouched, and inarguably the most undesirable tourist destination because it consists entirely of plastic and pollution. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a combination of plastics and marine debris caught in circulating water currents. It currently weighs about 80,000 metric tons and is continually growing (Lebreton et al., 2018).

Thailand Beach 2019

The United States is not entirely at fault for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, nor plastic pollution as a whole, but Americans are leading contributors to the plastic pollution crisis. The United States generates more plastic waste per person per day than anywhere else in the world. The United States ships this plastic waste abroad to developing countries with inadequate waste management infrastructure. As a result, this plastic waste is mismanaged, often discarded into the environment or burned. The top five countries responsible for more than 50% of mismanaged plastic waste globally are recipients of United States plastic waste. These countries include China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand (Ritchie, 2018).

In December of 2019, I traveled to one of these leading contributors to help with clean-up efforts. In Thailand, I completed a Plastic Pollution and Coastal Conservation internship. Despite having spent each day in awe of the country’s natural scenery, I laid in bed each night feeling disheartened. Alongside my team, I spent hours clearing plastic off beaches to return the next day to find the waste replenished itself overnight. Not only was the plastic pollution unsightly, but it posed a severe threat to marine life, too. I worked at the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, where my team and I cared for injured green sea turtles. Before this internship, I had only seen images of sea turtles enduring injuries from plastic pollution, like plastic straws in their noses or plastic rings around their necks. In Thailand, I experienced it first-hand.

During this experience, it became strikingly clear to me that the plastic pollution crisis required an all-hands-on-deck approach. I also learned clean-up efforts were not enough; the plastic pollution crisis needed to be addressed from a preventative approach, and despite being a relatively responsible action to take, recycling alone would not cut it.

91% of all plastics worldwide are not recycled, including plastics that are sent to recycling facilities. By 2050, scientists estimate that plastics will weigh about eleven billion metric tons, nearly equivalent to the weight of 35,000 Empire State Buildings. (Parker, 2018) Overreliance and overproduction are two factors at fault for the mismanagement of this 91% of plastic waste and this plastic pollution crisis. (Daly, n.d.)

The phrase “reduce, reuse, recycle” is in that order for a reason. The most effective way to prevent waste from inundating our environment is not to create it in the first place. New materials not only require raw materials and energy for production and transportation, but once they exist in the world, they can never leave. These products can only fill landfills, the oceans, the atmosphere (if burned), or be refurbished into other products. However, since recycling plastic waste is only 9% efficient, the single best thing you can do to eliminate plastic waste is reduce your use. If you cannot reduce, you should reuse, and finally, with all other options exhausted, you should recycle.

I make conscious efforts to reduce plastic use in my daily life and encourage others to do the same. However, I often get questioned why I make an active effort to reduce my plastic use when I am only one person facing 7.7 billion others and entire societal systems that contribute to this plastic pollution crisis. I am indeed up against tough competition; nonetheless, any stride toward sustainability is of Earth’s benefit. “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale. It is easy to detach yourself and feel that your contribution is minuscule as an individual, but there are 7.7 billion people in this world; if each individual takes ownership and takes charge, change is inevitable.

One month of recyclable waste produced by a family of four.

To put this in perspective, in the summer of 2019, I asked a non-recycling household if I could collect their recyclables to help increase recycling in my local community. In just one month, I collected and recycled hundreds of plastic bottles from this one family of four. If only one household produced enough plastic to spread across my backyard, imagine how much plastics hundreds of millions of homes in just the United States produce each month – now imagine if each individual in each household chooses to use a reusable bottle.

To Earth’s benefit, we have seen individual reduction efforts as simple as ditching plastic bottles lead to major legislative revisions across the globe. Public opinion is strident and personal action is acknowledged, igniting a movement of political activism and a transformation in legislation. Within these past few years, California has outlawed plastic straws in full-service restaurants, and Peru established a ban on single-use plastics in vulnerable areas (Howard et al., 2019). At the start of 2020, Thailand banned single-use plastic bags in all of its major stores. (Chankaew, 2020) An individual’s effort to reduce destruction is impactful, both directly and indirectly.

So, despite falling asleep in Thailand feeling disheartened because of the daily reminder of our plastic pollution crisis, I woke up each morning feeling eager to do what I could to protect the environment. Because of my individual efforts and those of millions of others, I knew that I might one day wake up in a world where environmental sustainability is not just exclusive to environmentalists but rather embedded in societal systems.

–Story by GSIP Intern Jenna Santacroce

References

Chankaew, P. (2020 January 1). Thailand kicks off 2020 with plastic bag ban. Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-environment-plastic/thailand-kicks-off-2020-with-plastic-bag-ban-idUSKBN1Z01TR

Daly, S. (n.d.) How Does Plastic End Up in the Ocean? World Wide Fund for Nature. https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/how-does-plastic-end-ocean#:~:text=Rainwater%20and%20wind%20carries%20plastic,plastic%20surge%20in%20our%20seas

Howard, B. C., Gibbens, S., Zachos, E., & Parker, L. (2010 June 19). A running list of action on plastic pollution. National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/ocean-plastic-pollution-solutions

Lebreton, L., Slat, B., Ferrari, F., Sainte-Rose, B., Aitken, J., Marthouse, R., Hajbane, S., Cunsolo, S., Schwarz, A., Levivier, A., Noble, K., Debeljak, P., Maral, H., Schoeneich-Argent, R., Brambini, R., & Reisser, J. (2018). Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic. Scientific Reports, 1–15. https://doi-org.umiss.idm.oclc.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22939-w

Parker, L. (2018 December 20). Planet or Plastic? National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/07/plastic-produced-recycling-waste-ocean-trash-debris-environment/#close

Ritchie, H. (2018). Plastic Pollution. Our World In Data.org. https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#:~:text=China%20contributes%20the%20highest%20share,South%20Africa%20(2%20percent)

Why should you care about composting?

Composting is a key technique for fighting climate change and increasing ecological sustainability: it reduces methane and carbon dioxide emissions, decreases landfill usage, decreases water and air pollution, and creates a nutrient-rich soil additive!

When discarded food makes its way to the landfill and is buried under other trash, it will decompose anaerobically, meaning without environmental oxygen present. This kind of decomposition produces a significant amount of methane, which is a greenhouse gas that traps heat 84 times more than carbon dioxide does over a ten-year period. This sort of decomposition also takes a long time to complete, so food waste contributes greatly to landfill space usage. Increasing the time a substance is bioactive increases the opportunity for disease spread and pollution to occur. There are several ways in which we can reduce waste — shop thoughtfully, donate unused food, and cook appropriate portions of food. Composting is an excellent way to utilize food scraps that cannot be donated and would otherwise be thrown away. 

Composting utilizes ubiquitous microorganisms to decompose food waste aerobically, producing a lot of heat and a little carbon dioxide. This method of organic aerobic decomposition greatly reduces the environmental impact of our three square meals a day. A good method to measure your emissions reduction is this: a pound of composted food prevents about  3.8 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere! The byproduct of this process is a nutrient-rich soil called humus, which is most often used as a soil-additive or an eco-friendly fertilizer substitute. This is an  important aid to ecological sustainability, since adding compost to the soil adds nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and a host of other nutrients, all of which are vital for soil health and structure, and microbial activity. Rather than throwing food waste into the garbage, you can transform it into a material that will improve your local environment. Composting is also an excellent way to prevent overcrowding our landfills; proper addition of water, soil, and food waste can produce high-quality compost in less than two months! 

If you’re interested in learning more, or in starting your own composting, check out our Composting Handbook: 

Download (PDF, Unknown)

-Section By Compost Collective Intern Matt Knerr

Compost Collective

Collective Change in the Community

We all know the Three Rs–Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. However, what is common knowledge isn’t always common practice. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the many ways to get involved and practice sustainability locally; within the Lafayette, Oxford, and University (LOU) community; students, staff, and community members can find engagement in sustainability initiatives both easy and accessible. 

The UM Compost Program is one of the most recent sustainable developments for the LOU community. Since its launch in 2013, the compost program has diverted more than 130,000 lbs of food waste from landfills. This number continues to grow and is projected to grow even more with the development and launch of the UM Compost Collective. 

The UM Compost Collective, which utilizes previously implemented elements of the UM Compost program, is a group initiative on the part of the UM Office of Sustainability, on-campus dining facilities, and community partners towards the reduction and repurposing of pre-consumer wastes.

UM Compost Collective

The UM Compost Collective promotes community-oriented action towards waste reduction. A large portion of incurred food waste comes from pre-consumer foods. With a student body of roughly 22,000, it is no surprise that the University of Mississippi constitutes a substantial portion of total food waste. However, food waste is not a localized issue and one that extends into our community–particularly for restaurants and local food providers. Having the availability of a compost collective allows for the increased diversion of food waste and greenhouse gas emissions as well as the increase of healthy, rich soil that can be repurposed for gardening. Composting is a cycle, so it only makes sense to develop a program that is equally systemic; meaning, community food waste is repurposed within the same local food system for the promotion of sustainable food production and overall soil quality.

WHAT IS PRE-CONSUMER WASTE?

Pre-consumer food refers to food scraps that are generated before they reach the consumer. Fruit and vegetable peels, coffee grounds, eggshells, and pasta are among the many food waste options that allow for pre-consumer composting. While it is possible to compost both pre and post-consumer foods, pre-consumer foods work to limit potential contaminants and vermin as well as help to reduce decomposition time. Foods to avoid in compost are those heavy in oils and fat, including meat, bones, and dairy. 

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

The UM Compost Collective is not open to individual contributions, but you can feel good knowing that your on-campus pre-consumer food waste is being diverted and repurposed through the compost program. Luckily, contributions to food waste reduction do not end there. Starting your own compost pile is a great way to practice sustainability at home. Similarly, shopping at Farmers’ Markets and shopping locally is another great way to contribute to local food systems. Volunteering with local groups such as Oxford Community Market, Flower of Life Food Rescue, and Hill Country Roots also plays an important and active role in sustainability. No matter how small a sustainable contribution may seem, the collective effort of our individual actions helps to mitigate larger environmental issues.

-Section By Compost Collective Intern Allegra Latimer

About the 3R’s Recurring Column

Waste makes up a major part of the current American lifestyle. On average, a person in the U.S. throws away 4.6 pounds of solid waste per day (Center for Sustainable Systems Factsheets 2008, 1) and for every pound of household waste, 40 to 70 pounds of industrial waste was generated during its production (Rogers 2005, 4). Yet, in nature, there is no waste and no ‘away’ where things can be thrown. The idea of waste is a human construct and in an ideal world, our waste could be useful to other parts of the Earth’s ecological system: no longer “waste” and rather something useful somewhere else in the system.

The impact human “waste” has made on the environment is nearly inconceivable and reaches beyond unsightly and smelly landfills. The gas given off by landfills consists of about 50% carbon dioxide, 50% methane, and less than 1% other organic compounds (Maczulak 2010, 26). Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas that has more than 80x the warming power of CO2 over the first 20 years it is in the atmosphere. United States landfills produce one-third of the methane emitted in the country and are the single largest methane-producing source of the US. To manage these sights, some landfills will burn their methane to convert it to CO2, to reduce the impact on the atmosphere. Others, currently about half the methane produced by US landfills, will be captured to generate power. Yet, even this solution requires methane to be burned which can create additional dioxins put into the atmosphere. The bottom line is once waste makes it to the landfill, there aren’t many options to significantly reduce the environmental impact. This is why the waste management hierarchy is so important.

Figure 1: Waste Management Hierarchy

A waste management hierarchy is a framework for minimizing waste streams. The steps in the waste hierarchy most familiar to nonprofessionals are the reduce, reuse, and recycle methods, sometimes referred to as the 3Rs. “Reduce” is the prevention of waste from being generated in the first place and the most preferable strategy. Reuse minimizes the generation of waste. Recycling is the last effort of waste management in the form of producing new materials from old materials. It is the lowest priority of the three (Fig. 1).

This semester the Office of Sustainability will have a recurring newsletter column breaking down each of these categories (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) and shed light on waste management in the United States and beyond. Throughout the semester we will be familiarizing ourselves with key terms, fast facts, and community resources. We can all be better waste managers!

Please email the Office of Sustainability Project Manager Kathryn Kidd if you would like to share information related to this topic.

Recycling: The Siren of Sustainability

Much like the sirens who lure sailors out to sea, recycling has guided the public’s awareness toward environmental issues. One of the greatest benefits of recycling is its ability to open people up to the world of sustainability; acting as the first step in many people’s waste management journeys.

Recycling is a waste management method that has some improvements over landfilling and incineration. Recycling takes what materials it can from the waste stream and reuses it in some way. Reprocessing material and returning it to the supply chain can use less energy and generate less additional waste than producing new material. Even so, recycling ALWAYS requires energy inputs and machinery, losses occur at every stage, and materials can never be recycled 100 percent.

Some benefit of recycling is that it uses less water and energy, releases less pollution, and emits less carbon dioxide as compared to using virgin materials. Additionally, because many people have curbside recycling or visit locations with recycling, it is often the first contact many people have with topics of sustainability and waste management. Recycling provides the platform for other sustainability initiatives to be seen. However, recycling does have some intrinsic shortcomings. Firstly, materials collected in curbside recycling are only recycled if facilities are available and a market can be found for the materials. Recycling is energy-intensive, and it demands lengthy transport with additional energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Up to 80% of America’s electronic waste is exported to developing countries, where environmental and worker protection laws and enforcement are less strict (Robertson, 2021)! While there can be energy savings, recycling still consumes more energy than either reusing a product or not producing it in the first place.

This is to say that while recycling is still very important, there are other steps to take before deciding to recycle your waste. Continue to follow our newsletter this semester to learn more about the Reusing and Reducing methods of waste management.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Campaign Fast Facts (Robertson, 2021)

1. Landfills produce a third of the methane emitted in the US and are the single largest methane source
2.  Junk mail consumes 100 million trees per year and as much energy as 3 million cars. Visit https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-stop-junk-mail to learn “How to stop junk mail”
3.  1988 the Society of Plastics Industries developed the idea of assigning a number to each of 9 grades of plastic and inserting those numbers inside the recycling logo.
4. Industrial waste makes up around 76% of waste volume in the US (Leonard, 2010)
5. 80% of the US electronic waste is exported to developing countries, where environmental and worker protection laws and enforcement are less strict.

Community Resources:

• Ole Miss Recycling Guide: https://sustain.olemiss.edu/recycle/
• Lafayette County Solid Waste & Recycling Information: https://lafayettems.com/solid-waste-recycling/

Sources:

Center for Sustainability Systems Factsheets. Municipal Solid Waste. Ann Arbor: University of    Michigan, 2008. http://css.snre.umich.edu/facts/.

Leonard, Annie. The Story of Stuff. New York: Free Press, 2010

Maczulak, Anne. Waste Treatment: Reducing Global Waste. New York: Facts on File, 2010.

Robertson, Margaret. Sustainability principles and practice. Routledge, 2021.

Rogers, Heather. Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage. New York: The New Press, 2005.

-Story by OOS Project Manager Kathryn Kidd

For yourself, the community, and the environment

As we all move through our busy lives, our time dominated by work, classes, social commitments, family commitments, not to mention much-needed rest, it can be difficult to see how volunteering fits into our juggling act of a schedule. But what if I told you that volunteering just might be the key to making your schedule feel less like a hectic juggling act and more like an effortless flow? Indeed, volunteering has several benefits that stretch beyond just helping and supporting worthwhile causes in the community.

Signing up for volunteer opportunities that interest you can help you to find new friends, connect to the community, learn new skills, and even advance your career. Volunteering can also protect your mental and physical health. It can reduce stress, combat depression, keep you mentally stimulated, and provide a sense of purpose.

The best part is that all levels of volunteering can see these benefits. Below are four of my favorite reasons I volunteer:

1. Volunteering connects you to your community.

Volunteering can be just as beneficial to you as the cause you choose to help. It can help you make new friends, expand your network, and boost your social skills. It strengthens your ties to the community and broadens your support network, exposing you to people with common interests, neighborhood resources, and fun, fulfilling activities.

2. Volunteering is good for your mental and physical health.

Through meaningful connections to others, volunteering can relieve stress. Volunteering regularly keeps you connected to people with whom you can build a solid support system. Not to mention that there is a uniquely resilient joy that comes from giving back to others. Oftentimes you can get a sense of accomplishment, pride, and identity through volunteer experiences. Taking your mind off of other worries through mentally stimulating tasks with others may just be the perfect zest you need in your life.

3. Volunteering can advance your career.

Volunteering allows you to explore areas of interest and meet people in the field without the pressure of a job. It’s also a free environment to practice teamwork, communication, problem-solving, project planning, task management, and other work-related skills. This practice may just give you the confidence to test these skills in your current or future career.

4. Volunteering brings fun and fulfillment to your life.

It can be a great addition to your career aspirations or provide balance to your life and goals. If you work in an office all day, volunteering once in a while outside at a community garden or football recycling initiative can provide balance and new hobbies outside of work.

Take some time and think about how you spend your time, whether it feels out of control or mundane and monotonous. Check your screen time on your phone or your online calendar. Does the way you spend your time reflect your values and goals? Could volunteering your time enhance your well-being? I encourage you to consider what volunteering your time could mean for yourself, others, and the environment. Whether it is to advance your career or connect to your community, volunteering is so much more than just giving back to your community.

Stay up-to-date on how you can volunteer your time with the UM Office of Sustainability by visiting our Givepulse page or contact us directly to learn about more ways to get involved in the community!

-Story by OOS Project Manager Kathryn Kidd

Stormwater Mitigation and Infiltration Project On The University of Mississippi Campus

As of early August, installation of the Stormwater Mitigation and Infiltration Project has begun. This project will be installed in the detention basin (surface storage basins that provide flow control through attenuation of stormwater runoff) between West Road and Chucky Mullins Drive, with the UM Law School being the closest building to the project. The project was originally proposed to the UM Green Fund by engineering student Benjamin Koltai, and involves a wide variety of partners between the Office of Sustainability, Facilities Planning, Facilities Management, Landscape Services, the UM Green Fund and the School of Engineering.

The project will utilize green infrastructure and ecological principles to better manage both the flow-rate and quality of stormwater runoff from impermeable surfaces in this area of campus. Phase 1 of this project is to install six dry wells that will allow for gradual percolation of excess stormwater into the ground. Phase 2 of this project is to plant a grove of bald cypress in the detention pond area. The cypress trees will offer additional water uptake as well as ecosystem benefits and pollutant filtration.

The Green Fund was established and 2013 and has since awarded more than $58,000 of funding to 22 projects. The UM Green Fund was created to support innovative sustainability projects on the Ole Miss campus, such as Benjamin Koltai’s stormwater project. Other past projects include the establishment of the UM Compost Program, the installation of hydration stations, and energy conservation projects in RC South and the J.D. Williams Library. All faculty, staff, and students are eligible to propose a project. To learn more about the Green Fund and how to propose a project, visit our UM Green Fund Page.

-Story by OOS Project Manager Kathryn Kidd

Transitioning from Styrofoam to Natural Fiber To-Go Containers

The Oxford Community Market (OXCM) is a nonprofit organization focused on food access. They facilitate a weekly Mississippi Certified Farmers Market along with hosting several programs to help make healthy, local food accessible to all people in the community, especially those facing barriers of cost and transportation. Last fall, OXCM established a Food Rescue Project aimed at recovering high-quality leftovers from Greek Housing to provide to community members in need. OXCM partnered with UM students and Greek organizations to provide over 2000 meals over the course of two semesters!

Throughout the first year of the program, they had to scramble together donated to-go boxes, a majority of which were Styrofoam containers, to meet the demands of the program in a quick and cost-effective way. Betsy Chapman, the market director for OXCM for over five seasons, recognized this issue and took on what is an ominous task for any nonprofit: obtaining environmentally friendly packaging when budget constraints are a constant concern. And so, Betsy established a partnership with the Office of Sustainability to overcome this hurdle.

Through this partnership, our office was able to provide the to-go boxes and bowls needed for the Food Rescue Project this season. The to-go containers we provided are all made of natural fiber and BPI certified compostable. In total these containers will save 3,053.6 lbs. (or miles) of carbon dioxide emissions and 5,651.7 days of bulb energy when compared to their Styrofoam counter parts, and they’re compostable! The to-go containers and this data were obtained from the Green Paper Products Company.

The Office of Sustainability deeply values our community partnerships; we are all stronger together. We encourage anyone interested to find ways to get involved with the Oxford Community Garden. Visit their website to learn more or go and say hi at the next OXCM Farmers Market, held. every Tuesday 3:00-6:30 pm @ Ole Armory Pavilion, 1801 University Avenue Oxford, Mississippi.

-Story Written By OOS Project Manager Kathryn Kidd

2020 brought important conversations to the table. From elections, to social movements, and global health conditions, the expression of large-scale issues and opinions has never found a more relevant time. Among such interdisciplinary issues includes the topic of Climate Change. As Dr. Clifford Ochs, professor of biology, aptly describes it–climate change is “one of the most immediate and pressing issues to our society.” The scope of climate change affects not only the current environmental, political, and economic world that we live in, but also looks towards the future.

Shaping this future as one that proactively protects the larger environment as well as our local community first involves engaging in the discussion of “What is Climate Change?” For Dr. Ochs and Dr. Carrie Smith, professor of psychology, asking this question first began on the University of Mississippi campus with students in the fall section of Honors 399 Climate Change in the 21st Century.

As students in the class engaged in discussion about what they knew and felt about climate change, it became clear that this discussion and information about climate change should be shared with the larger University campus and community. The idea for a survey came about when one of Dr. Ochs’s students, Rohan Agrawal, a computer science major, presented the idea of putting this class discussion into “instructive action.” Pointing to the overall success of the class content in inspiring students to apply instruction to real-world situations, the classroom dialogue soon turned towards extending the discussion of climate change to the wider University community and also to the University administration.

Even before a global pandemic sent 19,421 students to a virtual learning environment, a virtual survey was planned as the format for Ochs’s climate study. Development began in Spring of 2020 with the intention of gauging what students and community members knew and thought about climate change. Students of the Honors 399 experiential class worked with Dr. Ochs and Dr. Smith, to create a survey that would provide baseline data for three main objectives:

1. The information will help make decisions to incorporate more information about climate change into University classes.
2. The information will gauge the question of whether the University should be more regularly offering an interdisciplinary class on climate change.
3. Baseline data will provide a starting point for working with University administration to address climate change issues on the scale of the university–offering educational opportunities about the issue and also talking about what the university can actually do in terms of infrastructure.

Despite having to navigate virtual learning and adapt to academic changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey was successfully sent out to randomly selected students and staff, during the Spring Semester of 2021. Data and analysis of the survey will help to accomplish the aforementioned objectives as well as to define climate change, gather baseline data about what the average college student, staff, and faculty knows about climate change as well as to gauge his or her’s level of concern about the issue–all as part of encouraging a broader University discussion of the issue.

Whether through a University class, community survey, or even family discussion, we should all be “talking climate.” The issue of climate change is far-reaching and positive action can be implemented in a variety of ways. From home composting to participating in community recycling programs, even seemingly small environmental action can have profound and far-reaching impacts. If each person does their part in contributing not only to the discussion of climate change, but also towards remedying the problem and caring for our environment, we all ensure that our local communities and larger Earth systems will be protected now and for years to come.

Written by Allegra Latimer, Green Student Intern

Allegra is a sophomore at the University of Mississippi double majoring in Biology and French with a minor in Chemistry. This semester, Allegra will serve as the Food Waste Reduction Intern. Through her time at the Office of Sustainability, Allegra has grown her understanding and passion for remedying environmental issues in our local communities as well as studying the connections between health and sustainability in our larger society.