A student at Auraria asked, “Why should I sort my waste on campus? I’ve heard it all goes to landfill anyways?” Waste sorting and diversion on Auraria Campus is operated and maintained to a high standard. Read on to learn about how our office ensures that materials fit for recycling and compost make it to the right place. Compost In 2020, students at the Auraria Campus voted to create a campus-wide composting service (ASCP, 2020). Since then, the ASCP associates have been managing and...

Why is it important to grow native plants? Native plants are naturally adapted to Colorado’s climates, soils, and environmental conditions, so they don’t need as many external additions like water and fertilizer. When native plants are established, they can help conserve water and attract mammals, birds, butterflies, and other native pollinators ( Colorado State University ). Why drought-resistant plants? Because it is so dry in Colorado, and droughts are becoming more frequent, it is...

A student on the Auraria Campus asked, “what is the difference between biodegradable and compostable?” What's the difference? In short, anything that is compostable is biodegradable, but not everything that is biodegradable is compostable ( BPI World ). A product must be able to break down into organic materials that can offer nutrients to the soil and plants around it to be compostable ( Western Disposal ). In addition, it must be third party certified by BPI (Biodegradable Products...