Day by day, dumpster by dumpster, Kenny Derieg and his two student workers, Enrique Zanotta and Dylan Burger, scout the campus on the lookout for eco-fails and missed opportunities. They methodically log what and how much gets pitched. “We go around with a paper and clipboard, and we’re taking notes on how often this bin or that bin is filling up. Every bin is numbered,” he says.
Periodically he and his students perform “trash audits,” emptying selected bins onto a tarp and sifting through the noisome contents for signs of “contamination.” A greasy pizza box befouling a blue recycling bin. A water bottle carelessly mixed with grass clippings. A banana peel mistakenly bound for the landfill.
Derieg’s main focus is capturing organic waste — everything from wilted lettuce to clamshell paper boxes. It’s his job to make sure SMC stays in compliance with SB 1383, which requires the collection of organic waste around campus. “We’re currently averaging about 300 pounds a week,” he notes.