Cougar Composting

Collaborative Repurposing Project Report Draft

November 11, 2015
Vanessa Acevedo, Kyle Andrews, Drew Moreland, and Jordan Vela

Letter of Transmittal

Date:
To:
From:

Subject:

November 11, 2015

Amy May
Instructor of English 402
Washington State University
Kyle Andrews, Washington State University School of MME
Drew Moreland, Washington State University School of Finance
Jordan Vela, Washington State University School of Education
Vanessa Acevedo, Washington State University School of Business
Collaborative Report on the Repurposing Project

Attached is the report constructed by our group on our repurposing project that was completed.
Our goal for this project was to gather information on the benefits of composting, as well as the
composting situation at Washington State University, in order to create a brochure to provide
awareness of composting to students to help reduce the amount of waste being produced. This
brochure provides the reader with a list of reasons to compost along with easy steps to follow to
start composting in the area.
To obtain usable information for the brochure we first researched the cost, ease, and availability
of composting on and around the WSU campus as well as how much personal effort it would
take for a student to start composting. We also found contact information for local composting
help along with easy to follow steps to start composting. We then put together a brochure using
the data that was gathered and discovered ways to provide this information to students. The
brochure was created using Microsoft Word; if the brochure were to be made consumable, we
would use Cougar Copies to print them, and then place and distribute copies in common areas
around the WSU campus.
A brochure was created that included sections on how to compost, the benefits of composting,
and information on local composting programs. This brochure also provides information on
what can and cannot be composted. While creating this product we found that composting at
Washington State University is easily available to students and is highly cost effective and
environmentally friendly; however, composting may be more involved than the average student
is willing to put up with.
We recommend that our brochure or other forms of informative reading on composting should be
placed around campus in high traffic areas. This will ensure that students are aware of the
benefits as well as the opportunities of composting at Washington State University, and will in
turn, reduce the amount or waste being put into our local landfills.
We appreciate you reading our report and giving us the opportunity to research such an important
topic. We hope our findings are beneficial and can help cause a positive change in our
community. If you have any questions or comments on our report please feel free to contact
Kyle Andrews, Drew Moreland, Jordan Vela, or Vanessa Acevedo.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................1
Introduction..................................................................................................................................1
Research Methods........................................................................................................................2
Results..........................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................2
Recommendations........................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary
In order to determine the most efficient way to spread knowledge and information to the students
and faculty at Washington State University, we first decided to study the entirety of composting.
We were asked to repurpose a project that allowed us to create a product that could potentially be
used and distributed amongst the population at Washington State University. We created a threepanel, double sided informational brochure on the benefits of composting, the costs behind
composting, and some resources to learn more about composting. Additionally, our brochure
includes programs at Washington State University that allow volunteers to become a Certified
Master Composter/Recycler. This report details relevant background information on
composting, the research methods used to complete this project, the results and conclusions that
were found, and recommendations to institute awareness of the importance of composting. This
can lead to a cleaner and safer way of disposal that could begin to help the community.

Introduction
Currently at Washington State University, there is no emphasis on composting and preserving
waste. Every day, countless students walk past composting bins just to throw their waste in the
bin labeled trash because the composting bins are not well advertised. Also, the composting
bins around campus do not have directions as to what can and cannot be composted. In the
dining halls, pictures of what can and cannot be composted are available, but the compost bins
are not well labeled and advertising composting is not prominent. Students find whichever bin
is most convenient and throws their waste into it without any consideration of how they are
disposing of their waste. Advertising composting around the school would be very easy to do,
and if the right measures were taken to improve this, composting would become a bigger priority

for students and faculty on campus at Washington State University. We found that school meals
can typically be broken down to about 80 percent compostable material and 20 percent waste.
With this information, we wanted to create an informational brochure that brought awareness to
how composting can help the environment. We created a brochure that outlines how to compost,
the benefits of composting, parameters on what can and cannot be composted, and helpful
resources to find more information on composting in local are regional areas. This report
outlines our research methods, results, conclusions, and recommendations for this project
moving forward.

Research Methods
The main goal of this project was to create a product for students to increase their knowledge and
influence the use of composting. In order for this goal to be attained many steps were planned
and executed. The first step taken to completing this project was developing a justification for
repurposing. Everyone in the group individually answered questions revolving around details of
who, what, why, and how. We found that our target audience would be students and faculty on
the Washington State University campus. Because three of us currently attend Washington State
University and are active within our fields of study, we believed that we would be able to reach
out and communicate with peers and staff easily. With an easy access point of communication,
we thought that we would be able to help raise awareness about composting. We also felt that
starting a trend at WSU could create enough commotion to create a bigger movement to bring
awareness to the benefits of composting. Then we collaborated to produce a collective version
of our justification. We decided the best way to spread information about our justification was
through creating an informational brochure. This brochure contains information on the benefits
of composting, resources for local and regional composting places, and facts about composting

one may not already know. From this point we divided the project into tasks and assigned them
to group members. Each task distributed came with a specific deadline to assure progress was
made by members. The next step involved our group coming together to discuss the progress
each member was making with their designated tasks so that each member could write a progress
memo. After the completion of the individual progress memo, each group member accomplished
their assigned tasks in order to complete a final draft of the project report.

Results
Our repurposed product is a brochure outlining the usefulness of composting, steps to follow to
begin composting, and the composting services in the area. This brochure is intended to be
distributed around Pullman and placed in high traffic areas around the WSU campus so students
can learn about composting. This pamphlet is not everything a student will need to start
composting, but it does provide motivation and information to teach students about how to start.
This product also outlines the benefits of composting and the necessity for composting.
Students can use this product to inform their roommates about composting and find local
composting services and supplies. Additionally, students and faculty can utilize this brochure to
become aware of the ease that comes with composting. This product is informative, and it
allows students to fully understand why composting should become a priority.

Conclusion
Composting has been proven to be cost effective and environmentally friendly. For these
reasons, it is important for people to learn and be aware about composting and its benefits.
Because of this, our group decided to develop a brochure that could easily be distributed to the
student body and faculty at Washington State University (WSU). The brochure consists of the
resources available on the WSU campus, the benefits of composting, and the steps on how to

effectively compost. Our hope is to potentially post our brochure around campus to ensure that
knowledge is being provided to students and faculty on composting. Without the information
and knowledge, students and faculty are much more like to forget about or not even care about
composting. Students and faculty walk right past the composting bins not realizing they are
available. With proper advertising and more awareness, Washington State University could cut
down their waste nearly 40 percent, and 80 percent in the dining halls. Our brochure analyzes
the benefits and the ease of composting, and if it were to be placed and distributed around
campus, more students would begin to take the time to compost, and WSUs waste costs would
be significantly cut down. Additionally, less waste would be taken to the landfills, thus leading
to less toxic fumes produced at waste landfills.

Recommendations
Since coming to Washington State University, there has never been an emphasis to compost on a
daily basis. There are never any lectures or discussions, let alone awareness campaigns, that
discuss why composting is crucial to preserve the environment. Composting allows for cleaner
growing and disposing, and it allows landfills to be less full. With more room in landfills, less
room is needed to dispose of trash and less harm is done to the environment. Currently, there
are composting bins around campus buildings and dining halls, but directions outlining
composting and how it benefits the environment are not available. This leads to students
blowing by the bins and tossing items into the trash bin when it could have been composted. We
recommend that advertising composting at Washington State University should become more of
a priority. We recommend that our brochure is distributed to students and faculty on campus, as
well as advertised throughout high-traffic areas to ensure that the optimal number of people see

the brochure. With our brochure and other helpful resources readily available and easy to read,
students are more likely to take the extra second to compost and help the environment.

Appendices