University of Wisconsin’s Sustainability Committee met Wednesday to plan new and innovative ways to implement environmentally-friendly projects on campus this year.

This is the student-run organization’s third year working to promote environmental awareness, by being involved with projects and volunteer opportunities on campus.

One committee member’s successful project last year was Edible Landscapes, which now has six raised beds containing small areas of vegetation that can be seen in various places around campus.

Edible Landscapes was a volunteer-based project that, with sponsorship from Associated Students of Madison, turned “ordinary campus landscapes into beautiful edible landscapes,” according to its Facebook page.

Sophomore Kyla Kaplan is the Sustainability Committee chair. Kaplan said that her hope for this year is to continue with successful projects like the Edible Landscapes.

Kaplan was an intern for the committee last year and started an initiative called Receipt Reduction, which aims to eliminate the permanent printing of receipts and offer optional receipts to customers. During the second semester last year, the committee began working with University Housing, the student unions, campus transportation, Babcock Dairy and the DoIT Tech Store to try to find a way to make Receipt Reduction work.

As of now, Newell’s Deli in Smith Hall has optional receipts. Kaplan said that if Receipt Reduction continues to be successful, she hopes it will move next to the Gordon Dining and Event Center, and then spread farther to all of the dining halls.

The committee also plans on educating the community and promoting composting around campus, as there are now compost bins on every floor of the dorms.

The committee also discussed a future possibility for composting throughout Madison.

Matt Kozlowski, treasurer for Progressive Dane, said curb-side composting is not anywhere on campus right now, but the city is looking to expand it to the Regent neighborhood.

“They haven’t decided for sure yet, but they’ve said ‘well, we’ve already done these kind of wealthy areas, [so] why not do a student neighborhood?’ It’s a good area to encourage people to develop sustainable practices early in life,” Kozlowski said.

Later this year, the committee will host its Sustainability Fair, an open event in which students can participate in discussions and activities relating to environmental sustainability.

“It’s just a really good chance for people in the world of sustainability on campus to get together at an informal event and talk about what they’re working on, and hear what other people are working on,” Kaplan said.

In addition to doing campus-related projects, Kaplan would also like to see students be active in the local community.

Kaplan said the committee can be helpful not only in the classroom but in the Madison community as well, due to the many volunteer opportunities.

“[We are] always happy to have people. What’s cool about Sustainability is that it ties into a lot of different aspects, so it’s really a plethora of people that want to come hear what we’re doing,” Kaplan said. “We really want to do what people think is most valuable.”

Corrections: 

-Edible Landscapes is a committee member’s project, but not the committee’s.

-ASM sponsored the Edible Landscapes, not the Green Fund.

-Kaplan hopes receipt reduction will move to Gordon’s. There are no plans yet.

-Composting in the city is not part of the committee’s actions, but it was discussed.