Idaho

Campus Trash Project

At the University of Idaho in Moscow, the Campus Trash Project yielded valuable information on the human and environmental factors contributing to patterns of litter accumulation and distribution. The project provided an evaluation of the effectiveness of university waste management policies and also served as a valid training exercise for archaeology undergraduates. The use of archaeological methodologies highlighted the mundane, human, and geomorphic factors that created the pattern of littering on campus.

Research carried out as part of the project showed that university campuses produce an equal or greater amount of trash than the urban centers around them. It also highlighted the problem that, while universities have created permanent positions and initiatives [Page 404]to reduce campus waste problems, they often overlook everyday human and environmental processes by focusing on macroeconomics. Trash signatures at the University of Idaho were found to be similar to those of a similar study at the University of Louisville. Approximately 19 percent of all campus waste was recycled, compared to 11 percent of recyclable waste in the rest of the city (Moscow), while only 8 percent of the state's overall waste was recycled. The state, city, and campus were all below the national recycling average of 25 percent.

The project began in 2008 as an assignment for archaeology students. Four trash-ridden zones on the campus were identified, and a group was sent to each with a map of their zone and handheld GPS units, which they used to plot relevant features, such as bins and parking bumps. Having mapped the features in the zones, a surface collection of litter was carried out and every litter artifact was bagged and located with spatial coordinates. An ethnographic element included observing and interviewing the students and staff who used the zone. The groups were given instructions on how to write up their findings structured in a way similar to an archaeological report.

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