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...

@Papplehat asked, “if you can’t maintain a vegetarian diet for health reasons, what else can you do to make a positive impact?”    Being a vegetarian certainly helps lower your carbon footprint, but when it’s not possible, there are other options when it comes to food. Global food production is responsible for 35% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, so it is a great place to start making a positive impact ( BBC ).    Beef and other red meat produce the largest amount of greenhouse...

Lauren, a student on the Auraria Campus, asked, “how can we support the start of composting programs in our own communities?” We’ll explore that question in the context of our campus, Denver, and Colorado as a whole, as well as the basics of composting and why it is important.    What is compost?     Compost is the aerobic (oxygen-required) biological decomposition of organic (carbon-based) materials by microorganisms (EPA). It can be used to build soil health and provide nutrients for...