Students traded their notebooks for picket signs and swarmed the University Union to protest climate change inaction Friday, Dec. 6. Sunrise SLO, an organization dedicated to creating a movement against climate change, planned the strike to compel government officials to…
Campus Starbucks locations will serve straws only by request
Starbucks was the last on-campus dining facility to still give out plastic straws.
Styrofoam ban to affect SLO County businesses starting this spring
In six months, businesses in San Luis Obispo County will be banned from distributing styrofoam products, including to-go containers and styrofoam cups.
Quarterly Clothing Swap and Drive promotes sustainability
Throughout the month of October, college campuses are celebrating Campus Sustainability Month in an effort to “raise the visibility of campus sustainability.” Because of this, students are making an effort to make more sustainable choices — like swapping clothes or…
Cal Poly graduates can recycle their gowns after the Spring 2019 Commencement Ceremony, but will they?
Last year, the Commencement Office partnered with Zero Waste and the University Bookstore to pilot a gown recycling program. Gown collection boxes were present at both the Spring 2018 and Fall 2018 commencement ceremonies. More than 5,000 graduates participated in…
In two years, Cal Poly will be required to compost. A new program is attempting to help
Approximately 20 percent of the trash Cal Poly sends to landfill is food waste. In an audit of trash from Poly Canyon Village, the heaviest weight came from half-eaten burritos and pasta jars half full of sauce. A new composting…
Your guide to SLO’s Earth Week celebrations
This week is Earth Week, and that includes — well, everybody. Many clubs and organizations at Cal Poly are participating to put sustainability-focused Earth Week events together. Much of the week was organized by three students: president of Surfrider Club…
The Zero Waste Club is making art out of trash collected from Pinnacles National Park
Armed with trash bags and a steadfast team of volunteers, the Zero Waste Club and local student e-commerce startup Ethic Marketplace traveled to the peaks of Pinnacles National Park on Feb. 9. In the wake of the government shutdown that…
Going for the ‘Gram
Think twice before rushing to get a shot at the latest Instagram fad: it may be causing more harm than you think.
Forestry senior wants to save SLO County’s oak trees
About fifty million trees are estimated to have been killed by Sudden Oak Death on the West Coast alone. That number is rising every day.
Students and faculty fail to keep up with Cal Poly’s 2020 Zero Waste goal; facilities keep campus on track
Cold Canyon Processing Facility Manager John Ryan said the recycling contamination rate from Cal Poly is the highest in the county at 32 percent.