CMC student measures campus waste for project

This article was printed in the Leadville Herald Democrat.

A 6½-foot-tall, 39-foot-long wall “litterally” contains the contents of Timberline campus’ dumpsters from the week of Friday, April 11. This visual presentation of the sorted and measured waste stream encourages students, staff and the whole community to consider aiming toward a zero-waste system.

One week's worth of trash generated by CMC Leadville. This visual representaion was the capstone project of sustainability studies studen t Todd Ackerman. — t’s easy to visualize how much trash is generated at CMC in an entire week thanks to this display by graduating student Todd Q. Ackerman, shown here. The photographer, Matt Peiker, is a fellow graduate of Ackerman’s in Sustainable Studies. The third graduate in the program is Shoshanah Beck.

The Lake County landfill will reach capacity and force relocation within the short term. Zero-waste efforts by everyone could buy precious time for Lake County. Colorado Mountain College is committed to leading more sustainable activities in this locality. A campus-wide zero-waste initiative will be central within CMC policy for the next fiscal year.

This wall of trash is the culmination of a waste audit of Timberline Campus completed as part of the capstone project for a Bachelor of Arts in sustainable studies. Graduating student Todd Q. Ackerman has combined his skills as a carpenter with his sustainability insights to create an engaging work. Ackerman credits his success with the project to support from CMC Physical Plant, CMC Green Team, Leomyka Art Gallery and Cloud City Conservation Centre.