University of Wisconsin–Madison
Are you curious about food waste and composting on campus? Maybe you’ve noticed compost collection bins are in some locations around UW, but not everywhere. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has been working on securing sustainable solutions to campus food scraps and food waste since 2009. From an initial pilot project to exploring anaerobic digestion and …
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, “edible food waste and scraps are the largest contributors to Wisconsin landfills.” While UW–Madison has set a goal to achieve zero waste on campus by 2040, there are many individual actions you can take to reduce your waste. To prevent food from going into the landfill, here …
Travis Blomberg, the campus resource coordinator for the Office of Sustainability (O.S.), won the Nelson Institute’s Rising Star Alumni Award for 2023. We sat down with Travis to speak about his experience at the Nelson Institute, his journey through multiple educational disciplines and jobs, his most significant initiatives at the O.S., and how students passionate about sustainability might find inspiration in his career.
As of August 2022, UW–Madison has relaunched a food waste collection program on a trial-run basis. After receiving tremendous support from the campus community following the cessation of the previous composting program, the UW Zero Waste team convened members from participating facilities, haulers, and a processor in order to find a solution to the composting …
On August 4th, 2021, the Office of Sustainability informed campus users of changes to the UW–Madison food waste collection program. As part of the announcement, a survey was circulated to assess the thoughts, opinions, and ideas of the UW–Madison community. The following graphic and article describes survey responses, background details, and next steps. Final …
In recent years, UW–Madison maintained a successful campus food waste collection program. However, due to unforeseen circumstances the university must overhaul the program. Learn more below and please take our survey to help UW determine next steps. TAKE THE SURVEY Why? On July 30th, 2021, UW–Madison was forced to suspend collection of food waste (commonly …
Hannah Kasun is a senior studying Music Performance and Environmental Studies with a certificate in Food Systems. Her work with the Office of Sustainability is focused primarily on the Green Events and Communications teams, and she enjoys working with others who are passionate about environmental and social sustainability. Hannah is using her spare time during …
Interns Catie McDonald and Riley Collins collaborated with students, staff, and faculty at Texas Woman’s University to help make the 2020 Sci-Southwest Regional Symposium a zero-waste event, which means 90% or more waste was diverted from the landfill. Read the full story here.
In June 2020, the Office of Sustainability (OS) undergraduate intern program will welcome its newest cohort of undergraduate student employees. Alongside several veteran interns who are returning for a second year, the new interns will spend the next 10 weeks in a “crash course” on sustainability. From visiting the Charter Street Heating & Cooling plant …
In October, staff and students from the Office of Sustainability joined University Housing sustainability coordinator Breana Nehls and a large contingent from sustainability programs at several UW System schools to attend the 2018 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) conference in Pittsburgh, PA. AASHE, which was established in 2005, bills itself …