A composter at the Campus: selective collection & education

Install an ecological composter bin at the Mundet Campus to improve the treatment of organic waste and use it as a tool for teaching natural sciences

Our project’s aim is to improve the sustainability of the Education Faculty of Universitat de Barcelona through three main approaches: structure and management, university community and curricula programmes. The first action is to install an ecological composter bin at the campus. So far, there is not a recycling system for the big amount of organic waste generated by the campus users, especially that produced at the cafeteria, and it is usual to have it mixed up with general waste. Furthermore, the campus has large gardens and wood areas that should be taken care of, watered and fertilized. With an ecological composter the organic waste would be transformed into natural fertilizer that could be used in the gardens of the Campus, reducing the Campus waste on the one hand and the use of chemicals in fertilization on the other. The second action is to involve all the members of the faculty such as the students, the gardeners and the faculty staff, in the correct usage and management of the bin. The third action is to introduce the eco-composting process and microorganisms diversity in several subjects of the Teacher in Early Childhood Education and Teacher in Primary Education degrees. Thus, the composter bin will be used in the observation and experimental design and in the living beings’ lessons in the subject of Knowledge and Exploration of the Natural Environment. It also will be an extraordinary way to observe the nutrition process of living beings in the subject of Teaching and Learning of Natural Sciences. Finally, the type of composer bin, according to the necessities of the area, the composition of the waste and its location and size, would be decided by Environmental Sciences students in a Service-Learning project linked to the subject of Sustainable Development in the degree of Environmental Sciences.

This project is addressed to the Mundet Campus, an specific campus of the Universitat de Barcelona

We will need a suitable, large capacity ecological composter that is priced at approximately 300€. In addition, it will be necessary to carry out a dissemination and awareness campaign aimed at the university community, so we ask for 100€ more. Therefore, the total budget is about 500€.

Our goal is to carry out the project through the new academic year, and we expect the campus to be open again to staff and students, so the amount of waste thrown away in campus will increase and the project will be even more necessary. In addition, the composter bin will be handled by students with gloves and facial masks regardless of the covid19 pandemic situation.