Under the leadership of Vice President Cavanaugh and the supervision of Scott Heaton,
Director of Support Services, the current recycling program costs the University nothing,
has no labor costs, and yet is incredibly effective. We recycle close to 70% of our solid
waste.
General Recycling
We have 125 recycling totes (90 gal) placed strategically across campus. Most of these
are near dumpsters so the choice to recycle is easy. Any recyclable item – paper,
cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic can go in these totes. These are emptied free of
charge.
Event Recycling
The Division started event recycling during the summer of 2007 with 25 event recycling
totes (60 gal), which come automatically with every request for outside event tables and
chairs. The totes are wheeled and placed near the event tables and chairs and as such
involve almost no labor. When the event totes come back full, they are stored in an area
accessible to the garbage company’s truck and are emptied free of charge.
Green Purchasing
Pacific’s purchasing department has recently updated our contract with Office Depot and
expanded the range of recyclable materials that our staff has to choose from – including
such items as toner, paper and pens. And as an integral part of our campus business
community, they are keeping us up-to-date on all of our green purchasing initiatives.
We are drafting a sustainability questionnaire for vendors so that we can choose our
supplies and services from the greenest companies possible.
Pacific also has a very strong surplus program headed up by the purchasing department.
Usable items that are no longer needed are held in a surplus inventory and the university
sends out regular e-notices about the items available. They are first offered to the campus
and then to charities. This includes excess dorm furniture left behind by students.
Energy Star is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.
Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through
energy efficient products and practices.
EPEAT (Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool) is a system to help
purchasers in the public and private sectors evaluate, compare and select desktop
computers, notebooks and monitors based on their environmental attributes. EPEAT also
provides a clear and consistent set of performance criteria for the design of products and
provides an opportunity for manufacturers to secure market recognition for efforts to
reduce the environmental impact of its products.
Furniture and equipment reallocation program
Pacific also has a very strong surplus program. Usable items that are no longer needed
are held in a surplus inventory and the university sends out regular e-notices about the
items that are available. They are first offered to the campus and then to charities. At the
end of every semester when students move out of the dorms, the Housing and Support
Services Departments collect the leftovers and donate them to charity.
Support Services
Tires, old sprinkler heads, pesticide & herbicide containers and all of our green waste is
recycled along with as much construction waste as possible. In 2002, the university
directed our refuse company to divert our solid waste from going directly to the landfill.
It now goes to a transfer station where recyclable items are removed from the waste
stream. Approximately 50% of our trash is pulled from the waste stream and recycled at
the transfer station. As a result, there is little need for recycle containers in the buildings
themselves which can be unsanitary and labor intensive to empty and clean. Inside
containers also consume plastic bags and require disinfecting making inside recycling not
all that “sustainable” or green when the alternative method, in place presently, results in
virtually 100% bottle and can recycling with minimal impact on the environment and
zero cost.