At a glance
Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) is University of Washington’s marine biology laboratory on San Juan… Read full summary
- Funding received
- 2016-2017
- Large
- Awarded
- $52,700
- Funding partners
-
- Services and Activities Fee (SAF)
Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) is University of Washington’s marine biology laboratory on San Juan Island. FHL has a more than 100 year history of environmental stewardship as well as marine and terrestrial ecology research and education, and is a beacon of ecological connectedness and sustainability in the Pacific Northwest. Nevertheless, the lack of a fully sustainable solid waste disposal program at FHL represents a clear and easily addressable area for improvement. FHL hosts hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and visiting scholars year round, and as such generates thousands of pounds of compostable food waste annually. Currently, all of this waste is shipped of island to a landfill in South-Central Washington. In 2014, FHL acquired an industrial Rocket A700 composter, which must be housed in a dedicated dry and animal-proof facility.
With this Campus Sustainability Fund grant, FHL will design and construct such a facility. This facility will feature:
- an enclosed space to house the composter;
- the ability to handle up to 700 liters of food waste per week, which is more than all current food waste production at the labs even during peak occupancy;
- a reduction in FHL-generated CO2 emissions* by nearly 11 metric tons per year;
- a yield of sufficient compost to cover a new, student-run FHL community garden as well as for all the landscaping needs on the FHL grounds;
- for the first time, a dedicated, publicly-accessible location at FHL for the disposal and ethical recycling of e-waste;
- educational signage describing our composter, other home composting methods, and the environmental benefits of composting and recycling.
The new FHL facility will be overseen by a new quarterly “FHL Student Compost Ambassador,” who will coordinate with the FHL administration, maintenance and cafeteria staff to plan, help construct and operate the facility. The Ambassador will also organize student volunteers to design and sustain the new community garden, and will submit quarterly reports to maintain continuity with future ambassadors.
*estimated using the student footprint calculator
Project description: We are applying for funding for materials to build a facility that would house a Rocket A700 composter acquired by Friday Harbor Labs (FHL). We are also asking for funding to hire a student (the “FHL Student Compost Ambassador”) to provide outreach for the composting process, to monitor the project and its implementation, and to initiate an e-waste recycling program at FHL. This project will be supported in the initial stages and over the long-term by FHL maintenance and dining hall staff to ensure that the composter is adequately maintained. FHL has also committed to maintain continuing funding of the aforementioned Student Ambassador position for four additional years (2018-2022).
Location on campus: UW’s Friday Harbor Labs marine station is located on San Juan Island.
Proposed cost (CSF): $52,700
Proposed FHL match (year 1): $45,335
Proposed FHL match (years 2-5, per year): $17,000
Environmental problem the project is seeking to solve: FHL has a long history of environmental stewardship as well as marine and terrestrial ecology research and education, and is a beacon of ecological connectedness and sustainability in the Pacific Northwest. Nevertheless, the lack of a fully sustainable solid waste disposal program at FHL represents a glaring disconnect, and a clear and easily addressable area for improvement. FHL hosts hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, and visiting scholars year round, and as such generates thousands of pounds of compostable food waste annually. Currently, all of this waste is shipped off island to a landfill in South-Central Washington. In 2014, FHL acquired an industrial Rocket A700 composter through the CSF. The composter and associated bins, however, must be housed in a dedicated dry and animal-proof facility which FHL does not currently have.
We are therefore applying for CSF funds to offset ~80% of the material costs for construction of a facility that would not only house and provide power to the Rocket A700, but would also centralize and improve campus solid waste disposal of all types, including recycling, landfill waste and a new e-waste program. An additional benefit is the production of copious finished compost that could be used for mulching around the FHL grounds, and fertilizer for a vegetable garden that will be initiated during the project period, primarily by interested FHL undergraduate and graduate students. We are also including a request to CSF to fund the first year of a five year FHL Student Compost Ambassador position, who would take responsibility for monitoring the functioning of the operational Rocket A700, would be the primary point person for outreach to the community and beyond about the program, and would submit quarterly reports to the FHL administration on successes and challenges.
Website: More information on Friday Harbor labs may be found at http://depts.washington.edu/fhl/
People and departments involved: We have obtained Project Approval Forms from the heads of FHL maintenance (Fred Ellis), FHL dining (Laurie Spalding) and FHL director Billie Swalla, and the Acceptance of Administrative Responsibility Form from the FHL administrator Mark Tetrick.
Molly Roberts
Project lead
- earobert@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Student
Jason Hodin
Team member
- hodin@uw.edu
- Affiliation
- Faculty
Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) has always prided itself on its sustainability and environmental stewardship, of both the many marine habitats associated with the Labs, as well as the 100s of acres of terrestrial biological preserve in the San Juan Islands administered by FHL. The natural maritime Pacific Northwest setting is a hallmark of the Labs experience for the thousands of students, researchers and other visitors that have short or long stays at FHL over a course of any year. Furthermore, the topics of many of the courses, research programs and student apprenticeships connect to ecology and environmental science, and it was therefore only fitting that FHL became part of the UW College of the Environment about 5 years ago. With the Labs as such a clear beacon of ecological connectedness and sustainability through its many programs, the lack of a fully sustainable solid waste disposal program at FHL represents a glaring disconnect, and a clear and easily addressable area for improvement.
A composting program is not only desperately needed, but would be widely used. The volume of generated food waste from the cafeteria and residential kitchens is substantial. The cafeteria serves from scores to hundreds of students for 20 meals a week, more than 45 weeks a year, and provides food for many conferences, department retreats, and events throughout the year. Furthermore, 10s to 100s of other resident scientists and students prepare their own meals in campus housing every day. While city-wide composting is available on and around the main UW campus in Seattle, there is no publicly-available composting facility on San Juan Island where FHL is located.
To address this need for composting, FHL acquired an industrial size composter that could be put to use on campus. In 2014, the Labs applied for and received Campus Sustainability Funds to purchase a state-of-the-art Rocket 700 composter (Figure 1). Unfortunately, it still has not been put into use due to inadequate facilities to house the composter and insufficient funds to build such a facility.
Figure 1. The Rocket A700 composter can process up to 700 liters of of food waste each week, and requires electricity and a covered housing.
To address this final step required in bringing composting to Friday Harbor Labs, we propose to work with the FHL maintenance staff to design a central solid waste disposal facility at the Labs, purchase the requisite materials and build the structure, and then put it into use. Specifically we propose to do the following:
- Recruit interested FHL graduate and undergraduate students to work with the FHL maintenance staff to design a holistic solid waste disposal facility, that would not only house the Rocket 700 and protect it from the elements, but also contain attractive and user friendly bins for recycling, spent batteries, ewaste, and landfill waste.
- Purchase the materials needed for the new facility (estimated cost: $20,000).
- Develop detailed signage in the facility to indicate to users what waste goes where, and to explain the functioning of the Rocket 700 (using FHL computing and printing facilities; estimated cost: $0).
- We will also provide information about other composting methods within the facility as a broader impacts effort, educating students, researchers and other visitors alike about the variety of possible composting methods that they can bring to their own homes and communities (as above, estimated cost: $0).
- Provide 5 hours of student support per week during the first year of use in order to maintain the functioning of the composting facility, and identify any issues that need to be addressed for better usability (estimated cost: $8000).
- Give a two-minute introduction to the facility during the “all-FHL” event orientation that begins each quarter of instruction at the Labs.
- Conclude the year with a detailed report –authored by the students who received the student support– that can function as a guide to proper use of the facility, so that it can be used effectively and efficiently in perpetuity.
- Friday Harbor Labs would then dedicate other funds to continue the program beyond the first year, potentially redirecting funds saved from what will be substantially reduced solid waste (landfill) disposal fees and the availability year round of free compost for groundskeeping.
The benefits of such a facility will be numerous. The most obvious and immediate impact will be to lower the carbon footprint of the Labs by diverting thousands of pounds of food waste every year from the landfill, and help to ensure that ewaste stays out of landfills as well. The output of the composting facility will be usable compost that the FHL grounds crew will put into use in landscaping. Undergraduate and graduate students involvement in the design and maintenance of the facility will develop their management skills and knowledge of composting practices. The facility itself will be an educational experience for all who enter, and will inspire students, researchers and other visitors to enhance their sustainable practices in their own homes, communities and institutions. And, finally, it will bring the sustainable actions at the lab in line with the environmental stewardship that has been such an important component of the research and courses at Friday Harbor Labs for over a hundred years. The result will be a Friday Harbor Labs that is truly a paragon of sustainability in the Pacific Northwest.
Request amount and budget
How the project will react to funding reductions
We realize that we are making a sizable request of CSF funds, but we and the FHL administration and staff are committed to completing the project even in the event of a reduced CSF funding level. Indeed, we will be attempting to secure additional outside funds even while this application is being considered. We will begin by contacting the College of the Environment in the coming weeks, and sharing with them the contents of this proposal. We are hopeful that the College –given its mission to develop “sustainable solutions to the challenges of our time”– will thus feel compelled to provide a match of a few thousand dollars at least. Doing so would allow for a 5-10% reduction in our budget request. In addition, we understand that UW units occasionally provide services to CSF funded projects pro bono. Specifically, it is possible that the UW architects responsible for the design process for the proposed solid waste facility could waive or offer a reduced fee for their efforts needed to design a suitable structure. Doing so would reduce our needed budget by an additional 5-15%. If funded, even at a reduced level, we are confident that we would be able to fill a 20% or greater budget shortfall, either from the aforementioned avenues, or through a targeted capital campaign directed at FHL scientists, past visitors, and previous donors to the labs. FHL has a development office that would be able to assist in these latter efforts and in contacting donors.
Plans for financial longevity
Friday Harbor Laboratories is committed to long-term maintenance of the composter facility and we are including an estimated annual contribution that FHL has agreed to contribute towards this project. In addition to FHL committing to cover operational utility costs, weekly efforts by FHL maintenance and FHL dining staff will include composter upkeep, ongoing wood chipping and collecting food waste. A breakdown of these ongoing FHL matches can be found in the “Non-CSF Sources” budget section of this proposal, and would total an estimated $10,500 annually, or $52,500 over 5 years. Furthermore, the Student Ambassador outreach position will create signage and directly communicate with the FHL community to ensure that only compostable materials will enter the compost stream. FHL administration has graciously agreed to fund this position for four years (at $8,000/year, from 2018-2022) following the initial year of the project. Initially this program will be limited to FHL dining hall staff coordinating food waste from the dining hall to the composter to ensure proper use. In subsequent years of the project, the FHL Student Compost Ambassador will coordinate with other FHL units to determine the feasibility of expanding the composting program to encompass the other FHL housekeeping units (i.e., student and researcher housing with their own kitchens). Please note that the $98,035 listed as "Project Completion Total" reflects our estimated project costs (CSF + FHL match) for the first year of funding. Ongoing operation costs beyond the first year are all committed as matching funds from FHL, and are listed in the "Non-CSF Sources" budget table.
Problem statement
While city-wide composting is available on and around the main UW campus in Seattle, there is no publicly-available composting facility on San Juan Island where UW’s Friday Harbor Labs (FHL) marine station is located, and all solid waste is transported from San Juan Island by truck and ferry. This represents both a substantial cost to the labs through our solid waste disposal contract with San Juan Sanitation, and is also a significant source of carbon and other pollution, both from waste pickup/transport, and from the emissions associated with landfill disposal of this otherwise compostable material (see the “Explain how the impacts will be measured” section). The proposed facility will mitigate this problem by providing a space to compost this food waste, as well as a dry location to store the wood chips or leaves (derived from FHL landscaping) that are mixed with food waste for efficient operation of the Rocket A700 composter, per manufacturers instructions. Finally, the facility will yield usable compost that the FHL grounds crew will put into use in landscaping, and in a student-run vegetable and flower garden.
During the busiest summer months, FHL dining staff estimate that they generate approximately 190 liters of food waste per week; all of the other resident scientists combined produce perhaps an additional 100 liters per week. At maximum capacity the Rocket A700 can handle 700 liters per week, so this device is sufficient to handle all of the food waste produced at the labs year round. During the summer, we estimate that the Rocket A700 could yield enough compost to cover a garden area of 2 m x 2 m (4 m2) every week, or 100 m2 per year, thus providing plentiful compost and mulch both for landscaping and gardening.
An additional environmental concern is that there is currently no central, easily accessible location for e-waste disposal at the labs, and much of this material thus ends up in the solid waste stream. Environmental impacts from electronics relate to their manufacture, shipping, and 'end of life' disposal, as well as associated components (e.g. cables, remote controls), via CO2 and other (non-greenhouse) pollutants released, including carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas) and smog. The metal components of electronics, such as lead, copper and platinum, must be obtained by mining, which can be quite destructive of natural habitats, depending on the mining techniques used. Poorly regulated mining operations will pollute waterways (thus harming people and other animals downstream) as will improper disposal of electronics when they are no longer working or needed. The metal components in electronics can be recovered –and the aforementioned pollutants mitigated– by recycling, as is done ethically and sustainably by both WA state and the main UW campus (ewaste.ee.washington.edu). See the “Student involvement” section for our plan to institute e-waste recycling at FHL for the first time as part of the newly proposed facility.
Measure the impacts
The most obvious and immediate impact of the composting facility will be to lower the carbon footprint of the Labs by diverting thousands of pounds of food waste every year from the landfill, and help to ensure that e-waste stays out of landfills as well. Processing the compost locally will also result in reduced carbon and other emissions inherent in the pickup and transfer of food waste from the labs, to the San Juan Island transfer station, off island from there to the Skagit County solid waste facility, and then by rail to a landfill in Klickitat County (South-Central Washington). There will also be additional carbon emissions reductions with respect to the production and transport of composting materials that the Labs currently purchases yearly for its grounds maintenance.
We have used available EPA documentation (www3.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/ tools/warm/pdfs/Landfilling.pdf) as well as the footprint calculator and documentation designed by co-applicant Hodin (footprint.stanford.edu/calculate) to make an estimate of yearly carbon emissions savings that would result from the initiation of FHL composting using the Rocket A700 composter. We estimate that the FHL dining hall alone generates approximately 5,000 kg (5 metric tons) of compostable food waste annually. Landfilled food waste, inclusive of transport emissions, generates approximately 2 kg of equivalent CO2 emissions for every kg of food waste; composting would eliminate these emissions, mainly through the avoidance of methane production from landfill (anaerobic) breakdown of food waste, as methane is 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than CO2.
Therefore, we estimate an approximate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 10 tons from diverting this FHL dining hall food waste from the solid waste stream. Subtracting the emissions inherent in the electricity needed to run the composter year-round (approximately 0.15 tons of CO2 equivalents per year), we estimate that the composter will reduce FHL CO2 emissions by 9.85 metric tons per year.
Once the first year of the project is completed, the FHL Student Compost Ambassador will coordinate with other FHL units to determine the feasibility of expanding the composting program to encompass the other FHL housekeeping units (i.e., student and researcher housing with their own kitchens). We estimate that doing so would save another approximately 1 metric ton of CO2 emissions equivalents per year.
The addition of an e-waste disposal and recycling program to the solid waste facility would also result in reductions in both carbon and non-carbon emissions from various avenues. First, recovery of reusable electronic components obviates the need for them to be mined, produced and shipped anew. Second, avoiding the landfill disposal of electronic waste reduces toxic runoff from those landfill sites. Since FHL currently has no specific accounting of e-waste generated and disposed of yearly at the labs, these impacts are difficult to quantify. But we expect the potential environmental 'savings' of a comprehensive FHL e-waste recovery program to be substantial.
Education and outreach goals
How this project will be publicized:
Publicizing the project to the resident FHL community will be primarily carried out through signage and an introduction at the quarterly “All FHL” Dinner by the Student Ambassador, as outlined in the student involvement section. Notes about solid waste disposal, recycling, e-waste and compost will be added to the brochures distributed to all visitors when they arrive at FHL, and in the informational signs posted in campus housing units.
Furthermore, this project will be publicized to the FHL community, to the University of Washington campus at large, and to the greater San Juan Island community through media, such as the Islander and Seattle newspapers, regional environmental newsletters and blogs, and through the Lab's social media feeds. In addition, updates on the project will be publicized in FHL’s monthly Tidebites newsletter, quarterly Intertidal Tidings newsletter, and the annual FHL Bulletin, all of which have broad distribution. The project will be publicized to the greater campus by contacting the press offices of the College of the Environment and UW Daily.
Specific outreach and education goals:
The primary outreach goals are to educate the FHL community on alternative methods and benefits of composting food waste rather than sending it to the landfill, benefits of using compost in landscaping, and benefits of recycling e-waste. Information on small-scale composting methods will also be provided for visiting students and researchers who may be inspired by this information to begin composting after leaving FHL. The signage will also be designed to increase the likelihood that all waste items are disposed of in the appropriate bins.
A long term goal of the community garden will be to provide ingredients back to the FHL dining hall, to be used regularly as well as featured in special meals, such as the aforementioned quarterly "All FHL" Dinners and the 4th of July celebration.
Student involvement
This project will provide 5 hours of student support per week to an undergraduate or graduate student for up to 5 years (first year from CSF funds, and subsequent four years from FHL, est. cost $8,000/yr), which we will call the FHL Student Compost Ambassador. This Student Ambassador will lead outreach efforts to educate and include the greater FHL community, and will recruit undergraduate and graduate student volunteers interested in assisting in composting and waste disposal efforts around campus. In addition, the Student Ambassador will hold group meetings with FHL maintenance, FHL dining and FHL administration to coordinate volunteer efforts at various stages of the project, set up an e-waste program at FHL, and compile quarterly reports to share with all parties.
Student involvement in community outreach
The Student Ambassador will coordinate the design and creation of signage to be placed in the composter facility, as well as give a 2 minute overview of the composter and associated waste disposal to the FHL community at the quarterly “All FHL Dinner.” This quarterly dinner is the ideal setting for a quick introduction to the FHL community, because attendance is mandatory for all arriving students and well-attended by the entire community.
The Student Ambassador will also be responsible for coordinating undergraduate and graduate student, faculty, and staff volunteers interested in helping with the composting process and/or in working in a proposed community garden that will use compost from the facility. In addition to coordinating ongoing volunteer assistance, we envision the Ambassador coordinating a few designated days each quarter where interested students, faculty, and staff would work on the community garden and in helping FHL maintenance with composting tasks. This position would give the Student Ambassador the opportunity to build leadership, communication, and management skills, and undergraduates and graduate student volunteers would gain knowledge about composting and e-waste practices.
Student coordination with FHL staff and administration in initial stages and beyond
Furthermore, the Student Ambassador will participate in planning meetings involving the heads of FHL maintenance (Fred Ellis) and FHL dining (Laurie Spalding), FHL administrator Mark Tetrick, and FHL Director Billie Swalla. In this way, the Student Ambassador will be able to influence and directly participate in the design and execution of the new facility. The Ambassador will then report back to any interested FHL student volunteers, who would then likewise be able to be involved in decision making at each stage via the Ambassador as their liaison. Furthermore, the Ambassador will recruit interested volunteers for various phases of the project construction per their interest, and taking into account safety issues as regulated by Mr. Ellis.
WA state and UW both have extensive programs to recover e-waste from the landfill stream, and to ensure that the e-waste recycling is handled sustainably and ethically (see ewaste.ee.washington.edu). During the first year of the project the FHL Student Compost Ambassador will work with FHL units, the UW e-waste program, and the San Juan Island e-waste transfer service (Consignment Treasures LLC) to develop a workable e-waste disposal plan for the labs, and to thus include publicly-accessible e-waste disposal bins and signage in the proposed FHL solid waste disposal facility.
The Student Ambassador will also write quarterly reports that will include an updated guide to proper use of the facility, ambassador activities that were conducted, a log of all volunteer hours and food waste composted, and a list of future needs for the facility. This report will be essential in communicating regularly with FHL maintenance, the FHL dining hall staff and the FHL directorship on the state and needs of the facility, and to provide continuity to subsequent Ambassadors.