I will place any extra food I have after each meal into a bucket to be dropped off and composted at Sara's Table Restaurant (a composting site) each Tuesday evening between 5:00-7:00pm.
I did really well in achieving my goal this past week. Once again, between my roommates and myself we were able to fill up three full bags of compostable materials and actually made a couple of trips to Sara's Table. The only portion of my SMART goal that I did not stick with was when the full compost bags were dropped off. We did do one drop off last Friday as well as one drop off on Monday.
Where I succeeded in my goal was continuing to take all scrap pieces of my food and other compostable items into the composting bag. My biggest improvement was composting more than just food scraps. I also composted items such as egg shells, coffee filters, and used matches. What I did to help me be successful in this area was I made a brief list of items I know are used around my home on a regular basis. I also informed my roommates about these other compostable items and they have been doing exceptionally well at remembering them as well.
One challenge that I encountered was the time issue. I'm not too worried about this, however, since it does not seem to be slowing down the momentum of my roommates! Another challenge is that one of my roommates is having a more difficult time remembering to composte. I have suggested that if she does have questions she can ask me. I do plan to create a sign to put up just above our garbage with a list of items that may be composted so hopefully this will make them recheck what they were about to toss away.
It feels great seeing my roommates take initiative themselves and compost with me! This has taken some pressure off of me and reduces the amount of work I would have to do if I were continuing to do this project on my own. I have also notived that our garbage bins have not been filling up nearly as fast as they once were. This could either be a result from us consuming less food, but I'm going to go ahead and assume that the reduced amount of garbage is because we are composting a lot of items.
This past week I learned the importance of reminding my roommates
I plan to continue with the same goal as before and place any excess or outdated items into the composting bucket and bring the bucket to the composting site at the end of the work week. I do plan to stick with last weeks SMART goal. The main issue I have been dealing with is when I drop off the bags, however, I feel that since they are getting dropped off on a very frequent basis.
My initial SMART goal was to collect any compost items and bring them to Sara's Table on Friday morning from 10:30-11am. I did modify the time quite a lot because it often conflicted with my schedule or was an inconvenient time to compost, ie. late morning was difficult because I try to be on-campus by 9am.
What really helped me succeed was creating reminders for myself by either leaving a note on my shelf or having a list of compostable items readily available. This way I wouldn't become impatient about if I should compost the itme or not. My roommates also played a tremendous role in helping me succeed since I wanted to set a good example for them and, to be honest, reminded me to not be so lazy and help out the environment by composting. The biggest barrier for me was when I would drop off the composting bag. I do feel that if I were to create a better composting bin for us we would not have to make as many frequent trips up to Sara's Table then we have been.
This project has really taught me how to compost, what it means to compost, and what to compost. I learned that behavior change is possible but there are two items that may be crucial in the succession of the change. One is by selecting a goal that is realistic, it may not be where you would ideally like to be, but if you start small you may work your way up. The other crucial factor is how much support you have, if you inform your friends and family about what you are doing they may hold you accountable to what you said to them which may motivate you to follow through with the behavior change. Informing other may also encourage them and they may want to partake in the change with you! I learned that I can actually compost, haha! I have been wanting to do it for the past year or so but after learning about how much of an impact I am leaving on the earth I wanted to look into adapting behaviors that I wanted to make sure that I am doing my part in helping sustain our environment.
My roommates have benefited tremendously since I started this project. They have been adapting the composting behavior as well along with having the basic knowledge of composting and what it is all about. I actually had a roommate tell me earlier today that there is a place at CSS that has a composting area in the dining room. She said she noticed some things they were doing on campus to promote composting and she informed me when she saw somthing that mentioned composing she thought of me. I can really tell that my roommates are taking composting seriously and have informed a few close friends on the topic. The environment benefits from composting because it reduces the amount of waste that is brought and distributed throughout the landfill.
I do plan to continue composting. I am actually having a lot of fun learning about what items can be composted and what ones can't. The behavior has not been too difficult for me to adapt because I have been wanting to do it for a while and simply needed and incentive to begin. I see composting as kind of a scavenger hunt to be honest. I'm looking for compostable items to place into the bag and I feel once I have found it I can 'check' it off of my list for that day.
I stated two suggestions for people above, which are starting with a realistic goal before 'jumping' in to the behavior. Also, create a support group they will encourage you through the process and may even join you which makes the behavior a little easier to incorporate, if it's being incorporated into your loved one's lives as well.
