{"id":12202,"date":"2014-12-02T08:16:29","date_gmt":"2014-12-02T12:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news\/?page_id=12202"},"modified":"2015-01-29T08:23:34","modified_gmt":"2015-01-29T12:23:34","slug":"corinne-walther-15-helps-make-campus-solstice-party-a-zero-waste-event","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/corinne-walther-15-helps-make-campus-solstice-party-a-zero-waste-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Corinne Walther ’15 Helps Make Campus Solstice Party a Zero-Waste Event"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Recycling
Compost\u00a0and recycling collected at the president’s Solstice Party for college staff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

UPDATED Friday, Dec. 12\u2014Waste collection for President McCartney\u2019s December 9 Solstice Party for college staff amounted to three bags of compost and a \u201csignificant quantity of containers for recycling,\u201d according to campus sustainability coordinator Emma Kerr.\u00a0\u201cWe also ended up with a very small amount of trash waste which we are hoping to eliminate in the future\u201d at large campus events, Kerr\u00a0said.\u00a0Student volunteers led by Corinne Walther ’15 discovered that tea served at the party was packaged in bags with foil liners that could not be recycled or composted. The remainder of the trash (less than half a bag) consisted of plastic wrappings and bags used to transport food.\u00a0\u201cThe caterers were very friendly and receptive to our goals,\u201d Kerr\u00a0said. \u201cA minimal amount of trash from an event with close to 400\u00a0attendees is excellent.\u201d<\/p>\n

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You won’t find any ordinary\u00a0garbage bins at the president’s Winter Solstice Celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 9\u2014and Corinne Walther \u201915 knows\u00a0why.<\/p>\n

Walther, who is an intern with the Office of Campus Sustainability, is behind efforts\u00a0to make the all-staff gathering a zero-waste event. That means that all leftovers and litter generated by the party will either be recycled or composted, with zero waste headed to the landfill.<\/p>\n

Walther knows how to accomplish that goal. She led a successful push to make September\u2019s Fall Festival event led by student environmental\u00a0organizations in the Campus Center, a zero-waste affair.<\/p>\n

For that event, \u201cwe ordered biodegradable bowls, and I hid all of the garbage cans and switched them out for recycling bins,\u201d Walther said. \u201cIt worked out perfectly. So I thought, why doesn\u2019t this happen at more campus events?\u201d<\/p>\n

Walther said it was easy to get staff in dining services, facilities management and events management<\/a> on board for a zero-waste Solstice Celebration for college staff. Party refreshments will be served on regular silverware and dishware, meaning napkins, cups and food scraps will be the only waste in need of recycling or composting.\"unnamed-2\"<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, if this runs smoothly, other departments will see zero-waste as a viable option for their events,\u201d Walther said.<\/p>\n

Campus sustainability director Dano Weisbord said his office shares that hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorinne\u2019s zero-waste proposal was a first for a big, campus-wide gathering,\u201d Weisbord said.\u201cShe and other students really wanted to make it happen. Our hope is that we can expand this to other events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walther, who is majoring in sociology with a minor in government, said she grew up in a household where waste-reducing strategies were common practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom would rinse out plastic bags,\u201d she noted, with a smile. \u201cWe were always donating and recycling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recognizing that not all of her Smith classmates are as familiar with composting and recycling, Walther got involved with campus sustainability work her first year on campus. This year, she is overseeing the approximately 40 students who have signed up to be house \u201ceco-reps\u201d\u2014some of whom will be volunteering at the Solstice Celebration.<\/p>\n

Walther and other eco reps\u00a0are also hosting a\u00a0“Smithies Give Back” waste reduction and recycling event to be held Monday through Wednesday, Dec. 8 through 10, on the main level of the Campus Center. Students are encouraged to donate used books and recycle electronic and food waste items. Details will be\u00a0available on the Smith College Campus Sustainability Facebook page.<\/p>\n

What will it take to make more campus events waste-free?<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I think it\u2019s more of a mental paradigm shift than anything else,\u201d Walther said. \u201cZero-waste may sound like a lot of work, but it\u2019s really pretty simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, she\u2019d like to see all events on campus producing zero waste for the landfill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019d like to be able to walk away from here with,\u201d Walther said. \u201cSomething tangible I can look back on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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UPDATED Friday, Dec. 12\u2014Waste collection for President McCartney\u2019s December 9 Solstice Party for college staff amounted to three bags of compost and a \u201csignificant quantity of containers for recycling,\u201d according to campus sustainability coordinator Emma Kerr.\u00a0\u201cWe also ended up with a very small amount of trash waste which we are hoping to eliminate in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12202","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12202"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12406,"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12202\/revisions\/12406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smith.edu\/news-stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}