By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Whenever I have had occasion to travel for work there are always windows for walkabout. Exploration typically strikes me on the second day, after weariness inherent with driving for hours evaporates following a good night’s sleep. Keep Nebraska Beautiful hosted its annual conference in Lincoln this spring. When I attended the previous time KNB picked our capital city, my early morning walk wound through the City Campus of the University of Nebraska. A few receptacles and signs hinted at UNL’s position on recycling. This year’s conference allowed affiliates from throughout the state to look behind the curtain – not just at Big Red recycling, rather we saw a comprehensive and evolving commitment to sustainability.
Looking at the agenda the week before, “Sustainability at UNL” promised to be a highlight that Thursday. Organizers paired an interesting topic with a tour, hard to go wrong with that setup. Faculty members Morgan Hartman and Madeline Yeatts highlighted advancements centering on progress since 2020. The mission of UNL’s Office of Sustainability: We want to make UNL more sustainable, efficient, and resilient by leading and implementing practices that positively impact the environmental, social, and economic prosperity of the UNL community and the larger world.
Morgan, who has taught Environmental Engagement and the Community and was hired as campus recycling coordinator in 2020, touted achievements such as a Tree Campus designation, Foam Free (no Styrofoam) Campus, and 2022 gold rating within the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System.
The University sits at a 50 percent diversion rate now, they explained, noting in-building recycling is being promoted “in an area we identified where we can make some progress.” A recycling pilot project started in 2020. Slides showed a move to uniform containers and signage.
“We tow the line on advocacy vs. . . . (we) try to help students realize they have a voice. . . . (absence of) Styrofoam and BikeLink are a couple big examples of student led advocacy.”
The presenters pointed out both examples and the meat of what they talked about on the walking tour that followed.
BikeLink allows students to check out electric or human-powered bicycles at six locations on campus. A year’s subscription is only $25. A few bikes were gone at the location we passed despite most of the student body being gone for the summer.
Selleck Dining Center, last on the tour, was a great place to view the demand for reusable containers called Ozzi’s. Matt, the manager, said, “When they get food they can get a reusable container and get a pass getting them back when they’re washed. (Students) get a reminder every two days if they don’t return them.” The return rate, however, has continued to climb. Selleck also features a hydroponic farm for micro greens featured in the meals.
When we first crossed the street onto campus, split into two groups, Madeline led us to what appeared to be a customized golf cart under a shade tree. Jeff Culbertson, head of Facilities, Maintenance and Operations (and a panelist on Nebraska Public Media’s “Backyard Farmer”) described the electric vehicle and aspects of sustainability within his department.
The cart charges and transports batteries that power portable trimmers and other tools that traditionally depended on gasoline engines. Now his suitably stealthy crew can work without scheduling around classes in session. Jeff, with UNL for 35 years, said there are 7,500 trees on
campus. All the mulch in their landscaping comes from trimming the trees. His department also recycles all grass clippings through composting. Prefood waste, like peelings, amounts to about 50 gallons a day. Jeff said the composting operation is at East Campus: six 200-yard piles in addition to a 300-400 yard covered pile. The process takes about a year.
Bike sharing, micro greens, reusable food containers, electric vehicles, composting – all of it is familiar to some degree. Located next to a storm water infrastructure, the Willa Cather Dining Center held something I had only read about. We were privileged to watch a food digester in action!
Selleck hosted the campus’ first digester in 2019. What we saw at Cather was the fourth. They all run 24/7. The LSC 200 model at Cather has a 400-pound capacity and digests 250-280 pounds of waste a day. Combined, the four centers diverted 135,000 pounds of waste from the landfill in 2024. It is an aerobic process with a food-grade enzyme. The digesters are as smart as any cell phone: the equipment is online. AI tells where the leftovers are from as the digesters track food waste and cost. Each leg is a scale that measures the amount of food being digested. Water that comes out from the process goes to the waste water treatment center.
Conversation on the walk between buildings speculated on the size of the student body at UNL. A ballpark figure of 30,000 is what sticks in my memory although UNL’s website reported the September 2024 census at 23,992. That total is on par with Alliance and the combined population of the northern Panhandle (Box Butte, Dawes, Sioux and Sheridan). Granted, we were talking about sustainability at the University of Nebraska and just in Lincoln at that. Yet, I wonder if this level of coordination and innovation is possible with enough commitment by the powers that be in Northwest Nebraska?
For information on how Big Red is turning green visit sustainability.unl.edu