New three-stream bins have been added across campuses within the Contra Costa College district as part of a larger effort to address environmental and equity issues. Unlike previous bins, the new containers were designed with the intention of making it easier for students and staff to sort their waste.
The longstanding change to three-stream bins was largely prompted by Senate Bill 1383 which was passed in 2016. The bill namely addressed issues with organic waste and food reduction, requiring that settings like community colleges must have landfill, recycling and compost bins side-by-side across campuses and that waste must be sorted into them as accurately as possible by 2025 within California.
“The actual bin updates themselves will happen gradually across campus over several semesters, and take place as new bins become available and staff are available to implement those updates.” Said Utility and Sustainability Specialist Katherine Chen in an email. “Some places may see new recycling and compost bins, some places may see the quantity, size, or location of bins adjusted to better suit the space and potentially streamline custodial workload, and other places that already have enough bins in convenient locations may not see much of a difference.”
Rather than having separate bins for different types of garbage scattered across campuses, the new bins have three containers grouped together that allow users to dispose of a variety of waste all in one place. Having educational signs along with landfill bins, recycling bins and compost or organic waste bins directly next to each other reduces the chances of the garbage being incorrectly sorted.
Some students have already noticed the sustainability changes happening within the district and feel like it is a step in the right direction. “I feel like I do see an effort. I notice the trash cans, recycling and compost. I think it’s common for California and has a good impact,” said CCC student Gabriella Ponce.
However, some of the student population has also had more conflicted responses to the new three-stream bins and the focus on sustainability. “I think it’s good but I don’t think it’s gonna last,” explained CCC student Madelyn Harrison. “I like them (the three-stream bins) but I don’t think people are going to use them how they’re supposed to be used.”
Additionally, the district Governing Board adopted a Board Resolution in support of Sustainability and Climate Action back in November of 2022 in order to implement other changes aimed at helping the environment.
Since then Contra Costa Community college, along with other community colleges in the district, have begun to adopt changes such as low emission vehicles, expanding access to renewable energy sources, having zero-waste campuses, fully-electric buildings, integrating sustainability with the academic curriculum and much more. So far many of the sustainability changes within the district are on track to be met by 2035 according to the 4CD Annual Sustainability Report.
“In the long run, this work will help reduce environmental harms like pollution to their (student’s) community; increase resilience to events like droughts or power outages; and better prepare students for jobs and problem-solving in a future that involves climate change, climate action, and sustainability solutions, since they’ll have learned about sustainability while they were in school” said Chen.
Those who are interested in sustainability are encouraged to attend monthly CCC Sustainability Committee meetings and quarterly 4CD Districtwide Sustainability Committee meetings that respectively cover plans for events, projects and updates about sustainability on campus and across the district.
