UMN Farmer's Market Farmer of the Week: Country Lane Farm

Farmer's Market Farmer of the Week: Bao Xiong Family Market

Recycling Questions Answered

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about recycling drink bottles. Do the caps stay on or do they get thrown away? Should you wash out your bottles? What is the right way to recycle? Taylor Stout, communications coordinator for the UMN Recycling Program, gave us some insight into the bottle-recycling process.

Stout says, “We encourage people to leave the caps on! Leaving the cap on ensures that any liquid in the bottle isn't spilled from the time the bottle is put into the container to the time that we receive it at our facility. When we sort the bottles, we place them through a perforator that splits the bottles open so the liquids can be drained out before we bale them with the caps still on.”  The caps are definitely recyclable. Bales of shredded bottles are put in a washing tank, and the bottle caps float to the top, where they’re skimmed off and sent to a plant that can process polypropylene resins, the material the caps are made out of. Taylor notes that “There are some losses as a result of the perforator cracking the caps or caps that fall out of the bale during storage but the losses aren't that significant.” She says, 

“Currently, we're looking for ways to better capture the cap pieces and put them back into a polypropylene stream.”

As Stout mentioned above, bottles are drained of liquids and washed at the processing facility. She says that it is important to recycle as many bottles as possible, so go ahead and toss it in the recycling bin whether it’s clean or dirty!

Other materials such as aluminum foil containers must be rinsed, but this should be done in a way that doesn’t waste too much water. Taylor says that the best way to do it is to use the “grey water” from dishwashing. If you can’t do that, try to use cold water, and lay off the soap. Try to use as little extra energy and water as possible when recycling.

University of Minnesota Duluth and A Greener Read

The University of Minnesota, Duluth Office of Sustainability recently participated in a very successful partnership with book re-use company A Greener Read. A Greener Read collects books to be reused (i.e.; given to organizations that can still use them) instead of recycling them right away; they only recycle the most damaged and unusable copies. UMD was able to donate several thousand pounds of books!
We interviewed Jason Burbul of A Greener Read, and Bryan French of the UMD Office of Sustainability. Here’s what they had to say about the partnership:

Jason Burbul:

Tell us about A Greener Read; how did it get started? Who do you provide books for? 

A Greener Read is a book and used media reuse/recycling company.  We started the business because we are book and culture nuts - we love the stuff that comes through our 24/7/365 recycling bins and warehouse!  We saw that books and things like DVDs, video games, and CDs were being recycled through thrift stores and that they were being treated as a way to make money rather than a great form of art. Their "shelf life" was literally too short due to the thrift stores limited sales market. Once they sat on the thrift store shelf for a couple of weeks they were either recycled or added to the waste stream.
We saw an opportunity to bring recycled books to a larger market and to efficiently and ecologically recycle when necessary.  We also observed that the recycling process could be improved for the individual looking to get their books moved along to the next person through 24/7/365 bins rather than retail hours in a Thrift Store.

Are you brick & mortar or online or both? 

Once we made the decision to offer the 24/7/365 recycling bins we began to network with other green companies and quickly joined REUSE MN.org.

How did your partnership with UMD begin? 

People in the reuse/recycle community let us know that there is a real need for a recycling company to focus on the reuse of books.  We were put in contact with The University of MN at Duluth's Bryan French about the potential of having the Math Departments "old" books recycled. We were asked to come collect the books. Bryan was able to promote the idea to the faculty to the tune of 6,000 lbs. of books!

Where will the books from UMD go? 

The books will be donated to Books For Africa and the Women's Prison Book Program. Books that the publishers require be recycled will be recycled. Some will be sold to offset the cost of collecting and sorting the items. Any books that fall outside of these categories will be given to Goodwill.

What else do you want the readers of this article to know about A Greener Read?

Reusing books is the greenest way to recycle unwanted books because it is using them for their intended purpose without adding any energy to recycling them. Our business is to get as many books as possible from people that no longer need them into the hands of the next person that can enjoy them.

Bryan French:

How did you link up with A Greener Read? 

This is the first time we've done something like this. I was introduced to Jason from A Greener Read through the UMN Sustainability Services.

Where did all the books come from? 

Staff and faculty from throughout the University of Minnesota Duluth campus donated the books.

What types of books are you donating?

We were only seeking textbooks, although a few people did donate their personal fiction and nonfiction books.

What's the quantity or weight of all the books? 

The quantity actually ended up being 4,216 pounds. We based our original estimate of 6,000 lbs. on weighing a single stack, and then extrapolating for the rest. 

Can the public also donate?

Although we didn't purposely limit donation to only from within UMD, we didn't spread the word farther, off campus. But yes, the public can donate.

What do you want people to know about this partnership or program?

As far as 'what I want people to know,' it's hard to say - this is the first time we've done this, and so we don't exactly have a long track record. And since this is the first time we've done something like this (that I've heard about), I don't think we'd be able to do it annually: some of the books we collected were decades old. I know that A Greener Read has a 'mailbox' style collection bin, which might be a better long-term strategy. I think putting the bin in place somewhere on campus is a good idea - we just haven't found that location yet.


Learn more and get involved with A Greener Read at http://www.agreenerread.com

Living Lab Update: Native Grasses

How does your Living Lab relate to sustainability?

Our Living Lab project is the restoration of a native prairie planting. Once established, this planting will require less care than a typical lawn area. In addition, it is sustainable in that it will have diverse native grass and wildflower species that will support native pollinators and butterflies.

How has your Living Lab changed since its beginning? What has been successful/unsuccessful?

We are still undergoing site preparation which involves the intensive management of 2 invasive species that dominated the site. The first round of herbicide treatment has been implemented and follow-up applications are planned.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a Living Lab?

Reach out to people because you never know what kind of expertise they may have to offer that will complement your own strengths.

What has been the most rewarding part about the Living Lab program?

Because we are still in development phase, we don't have the satisfaction of a completed project yet, so I would say the most rewarding part to date has been making new partnerships that we hadn't foreseen.

Living Lab Update: Native Pollinators (Bee Garden)

How does your Living Lab relate to sustainability?

Our living lab project related to sustainability in two ways. First, the native plants represented in the pollinator garden are important members of Minnesota's native landscape. By informing the public about native flowers and encouraging their propagation, we are aiding all the animals that have co-evolved with and depend on them. This includes everything from soil dwelling microbes to insects and birds. By supporting these relationships and interactions we help to create a more resilient and productive ecosystem.
This leads to our second point, pollinators. The plants selected and planted are all known to be exceptional forage resources for pollinating insects. Pollination is a critical ecosystem service that not only indispensable to natural ecosystems, but is important to the sustainability of our agricultural food production systems as well. Given the current declines in pollinator species as well as the challenges faced by honeybee keepers, cultivating plants that provide nutrition for bees is especially important. By informing people about the value of these particular plants to pollinators we hope to encourage people to take an active roll in preserving this important group of animals.
How has your Living Lab changed since its beginning? What has been successful/unsuccessful?
Currently, our pollinator display is thriving! The plants are establishing especially well and have even begun to bloom, something that wasn't expected until year two. Thus far we have provided temporary labels to inform the public of the name of the plants in lieu of more permanent and informative labels. Deciding the best type of label and the information to be provided on them has thus far been our biggest challenge.  
What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a Living Lab?
It is important to walk a line between creativity and thinking outside the box, while also selecting a project that is appropriate for your site. For instance, creating a rain garden demonstration in an area of campus that is naturally very dry and elevated would not be appropriate. In addition, be sure that you have a plan in place to communicate to the public as well as provide long term maintenance to the site. These two considerations go hand-in-hand, as a poorly maintained site will lose its functionality and purpose over time, thus providing limited or inaccurate information to the public.
What has been the most rewarding part about the Living Lab program?
Ian: For me it has been watching the plants flower, and the various species of bees start to forage in our garden. It will make an excellent site for future extension and educational activities regarding pollinators and native plants.
Madeline: It has been exciting to see how successful our plants have been in the site we selected. Some of the species are plants I have never personally grown before, and being able to view them in a natural setting where they are thriving is a great and educational experience. It is also very helpful to have an area that is part of the Display and Trail garden devoted to native pollinator-friendly plants, as interested garden visitors can easily be directed there.

Living Lab Update: Low Maintenance Turfgrass

Low maintenance turfgrass requires less water, pesticides, and labor to maintain, thereby creating a more sustainable landscape on campus. Sam Bauer, a Turfgrass Extension Educator, has implemented low maintenance turfgrass as part of his living lab on the St. Paul campus. We're checking in with Sam this week to learn the status of his living lab and advice to future living lab participants.

How does your Living Lab relate to sustainability?

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Lawn and grounds areas established with traditional​ turfgrass species require a significant amount of resources and labor to maintain.  Low maintenance turfgrasses have proven to provide acceptable appearance and function, while requiring fewer inputs of labor, irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. We've established three separate areas of low maintenance turfgrass on the St. Paul campus with specific goals of sustainability. The species of tall fescue has been established across from the display and trial garden. In this area we are mainly looking at a reduction in water usage. Between Alderman Hall and the Soil Science building we have established a mixture of fine fescue species that require minimal irrigation, mowing, and fertility. This mixture was chosen because of the sloped landscape that is difficult to mow, which causes safety issues for the landcare team. The third area was established with salt-tolerant sod on a boulevard that receives heavy loading from deicing salts. Every year many boulevards on campus need to be renovated because of the damage from salt. Salt-tolerant sod is more sustainable in this environment.             

How has your Living Lab changed since its beginning? What has been successful/unsuccessful?

​Conversion of the traditional turfgrass species in the Living Lab areas has been a successful process. In many cases, we've been able to completely change the species from start to finish in about six weeks. As the turfgrasses matured, we started to reduce maintenance accordingly. Currently all of our low maintenance turfgrass areas are performing as planned. ​

What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a Living Lab?

​A greater benefit from the Living Lab program can be achieved by collaborating with colleagues and other departments on campus. We've been successful mainly through the support of Landcare and the Department of Horticultural Science.   ​

What has been the most rewarding part about the Living Lab program?

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The opportunity to "practice what we preach". The main goal of our turfgrass extension program is to educate consumers and turfgrass managers on low maintenance grasses and environmentally responsible turfgrass maintenance practices. It is only fitting that we approach the maintenance of campus grounds with the same goals.  ​