MSA increases support of sustainability through legislation

The bills support a sustainability class and downtown recycling solutions.

By Taha Hameduddin

Published March 17, 2009

The Missouri Students Association Senate passed two pieces of legislation Wednesday aimed to increase MU's commitment to sustainability.

The first bill outlines Sustain Mizzou's service learning class for sustainable development in downtown Columbia and legislates $3,000 from the contingency and reserve fund for the class.

The second resolution outlines recycling solutions for downtown Columbia and defines the city's role in creating a sustainable environment.

Sustain Mizzou's service learning class serves both environmental and economical interests. The class diverted 9.5 tons of food waste from Rollins Dining Hall to a compost facility that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill.

The class meets three times a week at its demonstration garden, class instructor Adam Saunders said.

"We do a wide range of garden tasks, including mixing compost, planting seeds, harvesting and weeding the garden," Saunders said. "We have nine students and always welcome volunteers to help us with our efforts."

Waste from dining halls is transported by bicycles, which helps to cut down on carbon emissions as well as cost. The class tries to cut down on costs as much as possible, Saunders said.

"We do our best to purchase used materials or find a way to get them donated," Saunders said. "We also try to find materials that have been thrown away and reuse old materials."

The class will be offered this summer and next fall through the Environmental Studies department, Saunders said.

The funds would be used to purchase basic equipment and supplies for the service class' five gardens, including seedlings, Saunders said.

"The contingency fund is to support the service learning class and the garden that they have built and help them grow and expand its value to the university and the city," MSA Vice President Colleen Hoffmann said.

Campus and Community Relations Committee partnered with non-profit organizations and private institutions to engage students off campus, now pairing with the class.

"CCRC is looking to enhance the value the sustainability class has to offer to the university and the community at large," CCRC Chairman Tim Noce said. "We will provide them with anything we can."

The partnership would provide the class with an extra hand to coordinate and increase its sustainability efforts.

"We are excited that MSA is funding a project that has done so much good," Sustain Mizzou President Pat Margherio said. "It's nice to see that the CCRC have recognized that this is a good community project."

The second legislation deals with increasing the effectiveness of the Columbia's sustainability efforts in the downtown area. The resolution underlines the city's past recycling commitments in the downtown area, which include distribution of recycling bags to apartment tenants and distribution of vouchers for recycle bags to downtown residents.

It also details problems with the supply of recycle bags and vouchers to residents and the irregular locations of recycle bins and dumpsters. Margherio expressed his concern over the lack promotion of recycling in apartment buildings and the difficulties faced by residents in the downtown area.

"People save up in their rooms and transport the bags to bigger recycling bins in the city," Margherio said.

The changes were welcomed as a way to increase awareness and make it easier for residents to practice recycling.

"I think it's a great idea, and I'm glad to see that efforts are being made to make recycling accessible to all people" Saunders said.