Where is away? When we throw away garbage, where does it go? Is away a far off place, or is away somewhere near our homes and water supplies?
This phrase is spurted around the sustainable world. Sustainability isn't simply recycling or tree-hugging hippies in an abandoned corn field, but is more about preserving the ecosystem. While some students simply dispose of their trash in metal cans, some students try to make a difference with other people's waste.
"People don't consider where away is. It's sort of an adage in the sustainability world. There is no away when you throw something away," said Christi Talbert, a second-degree student in environmental design. "It's going somewhere."
Simon Gregg, senior in biosystems engineering, takes everyday waste to create ecologically sound items to better his self-sufficiency.
"I get annoyed with society and the amount of waste we develop and the irresponsibleness of how people process waste and how much litter there is on our streets," Gregg said. "People just don't care about the environment."
Gregg is from Prospect, a small town in Tennessee. He grew up working with his hands and designing machines from scrap materials around his farm.
"All I can do is use that to motivate me to do something better, to understand some part of the problem, and develop a way to improve upon that situation," Gregg said. "To get the word out there and (help people not litter), some way to help the situation."
His latest project is an aquaponics system that circulates aquatic animal waste to fertilize plants such as leafy greens, peppers or tomatoes. The system is in the fenced-in backyard of his house off Drake Avenue in Auburn.
"All this material we see now as having no value to us. In the future we will use it to produce energy," Gregg said. "We should be doing it right now, and that's the type thing I hope to develop in the future."
Gregg's goal is to become as self-sufficient as he can. In his backyard not, counting the aquaponics system, he has a greenhouse made from an old truck canopy, a compost pile, a laundry clothesline and a recycling area.
"Some stuff I have acquired over time and just looking around, picking stuff up off of the road, trash or things people throw out or things that have fallen off trucks or something," Gregg said. "It still has good value, and I put it to good use with things like this aquaponics."
Gregg does not solely work with aquaponics systems. He has a compost pile, a greenhouse made out of a truck's camper shell, a clothesline, and a recycling system - all in the backyard in order to declare himself self-sufficient.
"Now we put most of that in a landfill and it takes up space; it's just a stigma on the land. A lot of that material is made from cellulose," Gregg said. "Any kind of biogenetic material can be gasified, or it can potentially be fermented and used in ethanol production."
Currently, Talbert is working in a studio designing industrial uniforms. She said her current work is outside the realm of typical industrial design.
"What students miss as far as waste is that they are creating it every single day," Talbert said. "It's (a) very simple mental-model thing that I think that students don't understand."
Talbert is a member of Auburn's Sustainable Designers Organization, which this spring is focused on a sustainable systems design.
"So rather than a mere sustainable product, we're thinking more in terms of origin and materials," Talbert said. "Creating a sustainable systems solution rather than just a sustainable product."
Talbert's undergraduate degree is in nutrition with a minor in sustainability. She said her work with nutrition and Auburn's Office of Sustainability led her to pursue a second degree in environmental design.
"I got to see a lot of different angles of sustainability as far as a university plays a part," Talbert said. "I found one of the major things we were trying to solve on-campus were things like transportation and waste - so, system-based problems. Food was an afterthought."
Talbert one day hopes to write her master's thesis on edible packaging. For her, this concept is not new, but no one has invented a successful product.
"If you have the right system in place, then you can create more sustainable lines along the route," Talbert said. "If you have a system in place, along the way you can make more sustainable products."
Every spring, the residence halls on campus have a special guest: large metal trash bins. Micah O'Dell, junior in social work, dives into these metal wonders to find his own treasures. For O'Dell, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
"I think students on campus are really unappreciative of what they have. Not in an active sense, but in passive sense," O'Dell said. "It doesn't matter to them to throw away a rug, because they aren't going to use it. In their mind 'I'll just throw it away then.'"
O'Dell said he found printers, DVDs, futons and refrigerators in the metal trash bins in the residence areas.
"Many people on campus are using their parent's money, and it doesn't have that same value to them. So, I think a lot of students on campus are wasteful not because they mean to be, but just because they don't have that other perspective on it," O'Dell said. "The stuff they are throwing away doesn't have any meaning to them."
O'Dell began his dives in spring 2011 after the April 27 tornadoes, which ransacked much of the state. During his first dive, he collected unopened items such as adhesive bandages and hygiene products. The items he collected he donated to tornado relief tents set up around the housing areas.
"Dumpster diving, for me, it's a hobby first and a humanitarian effort second. It's fun; it's interesting," O'Dell said. "It's always really exciting and energizing because you're doing it at night with security guards walking around. It's not always congratulated or appreciated whenever you're digging around in the dumpster."
O'Dell said he knows the items he donates goes to someone in need, which is his motivation.
"I guess technically you're not supposed to, but we see it as the end result is greater than we being able, or not being able, to go in the dumpsters and pull this stuff out," O'Dell said. "I really do it because it's fun, and then along the way I see an opportunity to help other people."
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