KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2010 / NEWS / 3A
SUSTAINABILITY
KU students team up with local brewery for future waste audit
BY MICHAEL HOLTZ mholtz@kansan.com
Boulevard Brewery takes steps toward a zero landfill strategy
If Boulevard Brewery's most recent sustainability effort seems ambitious, that's because it is.
"Eventually, we're not going to have trash," said Laurie Williams, logistics manager for the Kansas City, Mo. area-based brewery.
With the goal of reaching zero landfill, meaning minimal to no trash ends up in landfills, by the end of the year, Boulevard Brewery contacted the University of Kansas' student chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association, or AWMA, to perform a waste audit of its facilities.
The student chapter completed a similar waste audit of Wescoe Hall in April. The group's final report showed that 76 percent of Wescoe Hall's trash was recyclable, reusable or compostable. Lydia Gibson, president of the student chapter and a graduate student from Prairie Village, said she expects to find similar results at Boulevard Brewery.
Kurt Gerdes, education chairman for AWMA's Midwest section, acts as a liaison between Boulevard Brewery and the student organization After talks with CEO and founder John McDonald about going zero landfill, Gerds said he contacted Gibson.
"Because they wanted to go zero landfill, we thought it would make sense to take a waste-audit approach," Gerdes said. "They'll
really understand exactly what kind of waste they have"
Gibson said performing a waste audit was a simple process. Student volunteers will sort one or two day's worth of trash collected from various locations in the brewery. They'll measure the trash's weight and volume and determine what is recyclable, reusable and compostable.
As director of raw materials for Lafarge North America, a construction materials company, Gerdes said he saw the waste audit as an opportunity for the brewery, the students and his own company.
Instead of hauling the remaining trash to a landfill, Boulevard Brewery will ship it to Lafarge's
cement plant in Sugar Creek, Mo., located 10 miles northeast of Kansas City. Because cement is made at extremely high temperatures, the plant can burn almost anything as alternative fuel.
"Everybody
wins because that material is here locally," Gibson said. "You're saving money; you're helping the environment; you're closing the loop. You really can't get much better than this."
AIR AND WASTE
MANAGEMENT
ASSOCIATION
INFORMATIONAL
MEETINGS:
Zero landfill, also called zero waste, has gained attention in recent years as companies have begun to recognize its financial, environmental and marketing advantages.
"You're saving money; you're helping the environment; you're closing the loop."
Wednesday and Thursday at 5 p.m. in 256 Snow Hall
"Most people feel good knowing that the product they are using and the process that is being used to
LYDIA GIBSON
Student President of AWMA
create that product are not causing an undue impact to the environment and the community," Gibson said. "There's the cost savings, and it's also just simply doing the right thing."
Companies such as Wal-Mart, Xerox and General Motors have
implemented zero landfill strategies. Frito Lay achieved zero landfill at one-third of its 32 plants last year, including its plant in Topeka. It's even a national policy in New Zealand.
For Boulevard Brewery, zero landfill marks the next step in a long line
of sustainability efforts. Gibson said the brewery already had some impressive recycling initiatives in place. Most recently, it helped found Ripple Glass, a company that collects recycled glass used to make fiberglass insulation.
The waste audit will take place at 1 p.m. on Sept. 24 at Boulevard Brewery's plant, 2501 South Blvd., in Kansas City, Mo. Gibson said the group needs student volunteers to help with the audit.
Edited by Anna Nordling
ENVIRONMENT
Photo contest raises clean water funds
River to Well will help build wells in South Africa
BY CAROLINE BLEDOWSKI
cbledowski@kansan.com
Ali Meeks likes to take pictures, but she never thought about using them to win awards or earn money. At least not until a friend told Meeks, sophomore from Shawnee, about River to Well, a photo competition that raises money to build clean water wells in South Africa.
"I really believe in the cause," Meeks said. "It's something that really needs to be focused on in the world because clean water is such a big issue."
Meeks won first place in the student category of the competition and received an honorable mention for another picture.
River to Well is a competition for professionals, amateurs and students. Entry fees for submission of photos are donated to a charity organization that helps build wells in rural villages in South Africa. All winning pictures are displayed at the Signs of Life Gallery, 722 Massachusetts St., from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.
River to Well began as a project by Ken Chang, a KU graduate. He traveled to South Africa in 2008 and learned about the lack of accessible clean water in many rural villages. He began the photo competition in 2009 and raised $5,000, which helped to build a well in Ndhambi, South Africa. This year, there are plans to build a well in Kwa Dick, South Africa.
"It's a really different and unique way to meet the needs of the world using photography," said Claire Lewis, marketing and outreach coordinator of River to Well.
Entries came in from the United States and eight other countries, Lewis said, but she expects this year to have even more entries from more countries.
River to Well is a grass-roots movement, Lewis said. Besides articles in local newspapers and a website, the project is mostly advertised by bloggers and word-of-mouth.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ALI MEEKS. STUDENT DIVISION WINNER, 2009
PHOTO COURTESY OF ORION KINKAID/RIVER TO WELL
"I was happy to see that those were young professionals and students," said Ferry Keizer, winner of the amateur category last year and creative director at Callahan Creek, an agency for special retail brands.
DEADLINE: Sept. 1
RIVER TO WELL PHOTO COMPETITION:
Where: Signs of Life Gallery, 722 Massachusetts St.
Admission: Free
Source: www.rivertowell.com
Entry fee: Starting at $15 for one picture
Categories: Student, amateur, professional
Submission: Online at www.rivertowell.com
When: Sept. 29 - Oct. 2 (with a main event on Oct. 2 from 7-9 p.m.)
Keizer considers photography his hobby and entered the competition after working with a company involved with bringing clean water to Africa.
"If you think that something as basic as clean drinking water is not afforded to so many people, then you take a lot for granted
here," Keizer said.
Anyone can submit pictures to the competition online until Sept. 1. Entry fees start at $15 but increase with the number of pictures submitted. More information about the requirements and cost for submission is available at rivertowell.com. All winning pictures can be bought for $30 each, which will also be donated in order to build the well in Africa.
Edited by Kelsey Nill
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