Thomas E. Drennen's Blog

Campus Update on Recycling and Composting

2008-10-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

The results from our first month of the school year are in. For the month of September, HWS recycled 32,180 lbs, up about 4,000 lbs from the same period the previous year. That is a 2 ton increase. While it is just one month of data, we believe it shows the addition of 1100 recycling bins and increased education is having an impact. But we know we can still do much better and we will!

All food waste from Saga is now being composted - about a TON per week! This is material that used to go to the landfill and is now being turned into a rich soil amendment. The totes are located behind Saga. Any living group that wants to compst, can use these totes as well.

For the month of September, our trash to recyclable ratio was 21.2%, a full 3 percentage points above the same period last year. There are two ways to improve this ratio: increase recycling or reducing waste. We're working on both!

There is still confusion about how our recycling on campus works. Here's a refresher - Pitch it ALL in One Bin! All recyclables go in the blue bin: paper, newspaper, junk mail, can, plastics labeled 1-7 on the bottom, paperbacks, telephone books, and cardboard. You can recycle more than you think!

HWS Goes Green!

2008-09-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to campus! So much good stuff has happened around campus over the summer relating to our green initiatives. First, HWS now has its first full time sustainability coordinator! Jamie Landi ('08) has already made a huge difference on the campus over the summer and shares my passion for changing the way students, staff, and faculty think about envirronmental issues. I'm so excited that Jamie is on board for the coming year. It's going to make a huge difference!

If you want to get involved in greening the campus - get in touch with me or Jamie or join the Campus Greens!

So what's happened over the summer? Here's a rundown on all the initiatives underway on campus:

The Yellow Bike Program. We started with 16 bikes last Spring. That number is now around 70! First years painted the newest additions as part of Orientation and they will appear on campus soon! The yellow bikes will be locked...but if you join the community bike program, you'll get a key that fits any lock. Take a bike and ride it to your next class...or ride it to the Field House instead of driving! We're in the process of opening a student-run bike shop that will be located at 141 St. Clair. Want to volunteer or work there? Let us know!

Improved recycling program. Students were surveyed and noted they needed more bins! The Colleges listened and added hundreds of new blue bins over the summer. Recycling is really simple on campus - place all recyclables in ONE BIN! You can probably recycle more than 50% of all your waste. Here's a quick list of what can be recycled in that one blue bin:

- All paper, including junk mail
- Plastic bottles/containers (labeled with a 1-5 or 7 on the bottom)
- Aluminum and Metal cans
- Paperbacks/phone books
- Cardboard
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Glass Bottles

Green Surcharge. To discourage driving around campus and to fund additional green intiatives, the colleges will now add a surcharge of $5 to each parking ticket.

Biodiesel Shuttle. A new HWS Trolley run entirely on biodiesel has begun operating on campus. The schedule is currently a bit limited, but hopefully will encourage students to take the trolley instead of driving downtown.

Compost Program. We're experimenting with various options for large scale composting of all food waste on campus. We started with Orientation - where all events were "No Trash" events! Rather than using paper plates, plastic utensils, and styrofoam cups, everything was 100% compostable, made out of corn, potatoes, or other compostable materials. Composting continued at SAGA during the first week of classes and we'll see how it goes. The idea is to reduce the amount of waste we're sending to the landfill and turning our waste into dirt!

Coffee Mugs and Green Tote Bags. Following up on the success of the student inspired coffee mug program from last year (thank you Mark Vogelgesang '08), all first years were given reusable coffee mugs by either the Hobart or William Smith Student Governments. Each mug will get you a discount anywhere on campus and will help reduce waste. Carry your cup proudly! All returning students were given green tote bags to use around campus or for those trips to Wegman's.

The Electric Truck. Two seniors, Greg Dlubac and Jake Podkaminer, successfully converted a pickup truck to an all electric vehicle. This was a senior project for Environmental Studies. The truck is now getting some graphics put on it, and will soon become a fixture on campus. Look for the Elect-Truck!

And the list goes on... A lot of good things are happening and you can be part of it. Get on board and help HWS go Green!

2008-03-31T19:28:00.000-07:00

Greetings -

Wednesday is shaping up to be a very important day for our campus and the Environmental Studies program and I URGE you all to please, please be a part of it. Our honored guest for the day is Dr. Anthony Cortese, the co-founder of the President's Climate Commitment. He'll give a talk at 7:30 PM in Geneva.

But the fun really begins at noon - in front of Saga, when President Gearan, Dr. Cortese, and the President's Climate Task Force launch a bunch of new initiatives, including: a campus bike program (wait until you see them!), smashing incandescent light bulbs (Smash the Past!) in exchange for a new CFL bulb (so bring your bulbs!!!!!), and our new recycling initiative. I ask each of you to try to personally ramp up your recycling - you can now put it all in one bin (cans, bottles, paper, newspaper, cardboard, junk mail, metal, plastic bottles, empty Starbuck cups). Each time you recycle, less energy will be generated and the planet will breath a little easier...

There will also be green (local) food in Saga and other surprises, such as a new campus website highlighting our GREEN INITIATIVES.

I want to thank all of the students who have been involved in the various green initiatives. I truly believe we'll change this place...one student at a time.

Please, please...get involved and show your true colors. Now is the time. Oh yea, and wearing green on Wednesday is strongly encouraged!!!!!

DRENNEN