AASHE 2010
CAMPUS SUSTAINABILITY
AS A DRIVER OF
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Meet the Panelists!
Elizabeth Cole-Fay
• Project Coordinator, Instructional Design
Department
– Oversees many of Rio's sustainability initiatives
• Helped develop Sustainable Food Systems
Program
• Co-chair of Pay 30 Forward, Rio's Social
Sustainability Campaign
• Elizabeth is a core member of Rio's STARS team that is
tracking and reporting the college's relative progress
toward sustainability
• Elizabeth holds a B.A. from the University of Nebraska Lincoln and a M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University
Tod Scott
• Waste Services Supervisor, University of Wyoming
since 2003
• Manages 6 full time and 16 part time staff
• Member of the Wyoming Solid Waste and Recyclers
Association since 2003
• 4th year on UW’s campus sustainability committee
• 4th year on UW’s staff senate, served as President in
2009
• Tod holds a Bachelors and a Masters degree from
the University of Wyoming in Business
Administration and Public Administration
respectively
Rob Gogan
• Recycling and Waste Manager for Harvard
University
– Oversees waste reduction, reuse, recycling,
composting and disposal for most of the campus
• Serves on the Steering Committees for CURC
(College & University Recycling Council),
RecycleMania, and the Institution Recycling Network
• Harvard’s recycling rate has grown from 5% in 1989
to 55% in 2010 and reduction in per capita trash
generation by 30% during the same period
• Rob hopes to further increase reuse of Harvard’s
surplus furniture, supplies and equipment to benefit
our neighbors and non-profit organizations
The Tie that Binds
Better World Books provides ReUse/Recycling solutions that
fulfill the trifecta of sustainability!
SOCIAL – ENVIRONMENTAL – ECONOMIC
We provide a FREE program to keep your campus’ books out
of the waste stream, which returns revenue both for your
campus programs and for our Non Profit Literacy Partners.
Booth 316 for more details…
Campus Sustainability as a Driver of
Social Justice
Elizabeth Cole-Fay, M.Ed.
Project Coordinator
Rio Salado College
Rio Salado College
A Maricopa Community College
Headquarters in Tempe, Arizona
Total annual unduplicated headcount – 52,634
Total annual online learners – 40,000+
Sustainability @ Rio Salado College
Thinking GREEN and beyond
Core Values
SUSTAINABILITY
Customer Focus
Relentless Improvement
Inclusiveness
Professionalism
Teamwork
Rio’s Carbon Commitment
The college has adopted several measures
to “think GREEN” and beyond -
Rio’s Carbon Commitment
• Charter Signatory of the American College and
University Presidents’ Climate Commitment
• Charter Participant of STARS
• Winner of America’s Greenest Campus (2009)
• Sustainability as a college-wide goal
• Programs and Degrees in Sustainability
Triple Bottom Line Approach
Sustainability:
“Meeting the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their needs.”
United Nations Conference, 1987
Social Sustainability
Rio Salado College believes
investing in volunteerism is
good business.
Honoring 30 Years of Service
• Pay 30 Forward launched in July 2009
• Honors Rio’s 30+ years of services to the
communities we serve
• All employees encouraged to volunteer 30+
hrs in the community
College-Wide Service Campaigns
• Tools for Teachers Back to School Drive
• Food Drives/Thanksgiving Turkey Drive
• Crisis Nursery Telethon with 98.7 The Peak’s
Project Give
• Reusable Water Bottle Drive for Summer
Hydration Stations
Honoring Individual Service
Rio Employee
Uses Vacation to
Volunteer in
Haiti
Earth Day 2010
A Book Drive…….because words
are worth more than just the
paper they're printed on.
Recycling for Social Change
Recycling
Initiatives
Social
Justice
Initiatives
A Dynamic Partnership
Supporting Literacy
Invisible Children improves the quality of life for waraffected children by providing access to quality
education, enhanced learning environments and
innovative economic opportunities for the
community.
What Drives Rio’s Participation?
Keeps Books Out of the Landfill
Aligns with Rio’s Social Sustainability Initiatives
Simple to use & No cost to participate
What is the University
of Wyoming doing to be
more sustainable?
Presidents Climate
Commitment
In September 2007, President Buchanan signed the
American College and University Presidents Climate
Commitment, committing UW to reducing its carbon
emissions over the coming decades, and to eventually
become carbon neutral. As part of the commitment, UW
has now completed its Climate Action Plan, the document
to guide the institution in achieving its sustainability goals.
The Climate Action Plan is a joint effort of University
administrators, faculty, staff and students.
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/
http://www.uwyo.edu/sustainability/
Accomplishments in
Sustainability
 Energy Efficiency
 LEED Silver Standard (new construction)
 Shuttle Service
 Bike Loan Program
 Composting Program for Dining Services
 Energy Star Purchasing Policy
 Courses, Seminars, Lectures and Events
 RecycleMania Participant (top 30%)
 Creative Waste Diversion Strategies
RecycleMania 2010
Over 600 Schools Nationwide competed in
this competition last year.
UW has placed among the top 30% of
schools participating.
The contest Measured the amount of trash & recycled materials
collected to determine which participants had the highest recycling
rate.
And the participating colleges collected more than 84 Million pounds
of materials during the 10 week competition.
UW Recycling Facts


UW last year had a full time equivalent
campus population of 13,192.
Collected:





65,520 pounds of containers
303,641 pounds of cardboard
544,492 pounds of paper
913,653 total pounds in FY10
Increase from 781,194 total pounds in FY09
Waste Diversion - Books



Sent over 12,000 books to Better World
Books in the last two years
Books sourced from Academic Library,
Students and Faculty
Books are either ReUsed through the
online sale, ReUsed through donation or
Recycled
ReUse of Books




75% of the books sent were sold which
makes the program (economically
sustainable).
Each book sold means funds are returned
to UW as well as 501c3, nonprofit literacy
initiatives (socially sustainable) .
Of the 3,000 books not sold, 20% were
donated to partners like Books for Africa
and Feed the Children (more social
impact!)
The remainder were recycled (more
Book ReUse continued


UW also sends books that Better World
Books can not accept to Books Beyond
Borders to help them build schools in third
world countries.
Material that neither book buyer is
interested in are cut up and the paper is
recycled.
Social Benefits



Less books in the local landfills
More funding for UW Recycling Program
ReUse funds worldwide literacy initiatives
ACRES: Agricultural Community
Resources for Everyday Sustainability
UW ACRES (Agricultural Community
Resources for Everyday Sustainability),
Student Farm is a University of Wyoming
student managed agricultural operation
that provides quality nutritious food for the
local community. The Student Farm will
additionally provide educational and
research opportunities for the Laramie and
University of Wyoming communities
Ongoing Projects
 Weekly compost collection from the
UW campus and Laramie businesses
 Including Campus Dining Services
 Residence Hall’s annual pumpkin carving
contest
 Composting on-site at the student run
1.8-acre allotment.
 Compost is currently used to improve
soil conditions at the student farm
Community involvement
 Tour of ACRES for:
 USDA CSREES Plant Sciences program review team
 Laramie Local Foods group
 Attendees of the 2009 Consumer Issues Conference: Food Safety,
Security, and Sources of which ACRES cosponsored
 Produce
 Sold at weekly farmers market
 Donated weekly to St. Mark’s Cathedral soup kitchen
 Closed the compost loop by providing produce to UW Dining
Services
 Education for the Community
 Taught class on plant science and helped with greenhouse
project at Laramie Children's Museum
 Friday Harvests and Saturday workdays open to the public
Curriculum improvements
 The Student Farm provides
educational and research
opportunities for the Laramie and
University of Wyoming communities
Current and completed
research at ACRES
 ACRES Student Farm weed management plan, Michael
Baldwin, BS Agroecology
 Research Project on waste management, recycling, and
compost at Laramie Jr./Sr. high school, UW Science Posse
 Biodiesel feasibility project, Alix Hakala, MS Soil Science
 Developing work skills for mentally handicapped students by
working on ACRES Student Farm, Penny Strain, MS
Education
 Growing broiler chickens on ACRES Student Farm, Collin
Tucker, PhD
 Design of ACRES logo, Katherine Kerber, BA Art
 Design of storage facility/harvest station, Doug Fankell and
Amber Lesbock, BS Architectural Engineering
 Insect monitoring, Nevin Lawrence, BS Agroecology
 Growing strawberries, Maureen Vinegegas, MS Plant
Sciences
Social Impact
 Educate the Community on local food
sourcing and sustainable agriculture
through tours and open volunteering
 Cross departmental benefit through
increased quality of education at UW
 Less waste in the local landfills through
community compost pickups at schools
and businesses
 More nutritionally rich produce in the UW
Dining Halls.
Transportation
In 2008 the University of Wyoming added the
SafeRide shuttle service on and around
campus and the community to reduce the
number of cars on the campus perimeter.
The University also has a bike loan program
available to reduce carbon emissions.
Current SafeRide stats
33,000 rides
5 vans
Office in downtown Laramie for high
visibility
Run routes until 2am
Who’s riding?
Age range of passengers 18-57 (avg=22)
76% are current UW students
14.5% = Laramie residents, visitors,
Laramie Community College or UW staff
5.5% alumni
4% WyoTech
SafeRide to come…
Adding a 6th van to reduce wait times
Expect an increase of ridership above
34,000 this year
What is the social benefit?
Reduced cars on the road
Provide a safe alternative to DWI/DUI
Increase public transit options for
community
Bike loan program results in less cars and
more physical activity for students
Community Partnerships for
Sustainable Materials Management
AASHE 2010, Denver: Campus Initiatives
to Catalyze a Just and Sustainable World
Rob Gogan
Recycling and Waste Services
Harvard Facilities Maintenance Operations
175 North Harvard Street
Allston, MA 02134
rob_gogan@harvard.edu
http://www.uos.harvard.edu/fmo/recycling/
Continental Army troops
barracked here in 1775 &
recycled roof flashing into
bullets for the Battle of
Bunker Hill.
George
Washington slept
here.
•Historic campus laid out on ox trails and Indian paths in 1636, first in Anglo
America—no back alleys, few loading docks, few dumpsters allowable
•500 buildings on 600 acres in Cambridge, Boston and Watertown
•Urban setting in most densely populated part of metro area of 3.5 million
•18,000 FTE students + 22,000 FTE faculty and staff + 2,000 contractors
•Built on Charles River flood plain with low elevation
•$27 billion endowment 2010, biggest in U.S.
Presidential Commitment
Greenhouse Gas reduction: “30%
below 2006 level by 2016”
Community Service for students:
summer housing & board
offered to any student pledging
to work 30 hours per week as a
member of a student
community service
organization affiliated with
Phillips Brooks House
Sustainability Principle #1: “Harvard
University is committed to continuous
improvement in demonstrating
institutional practices that decrease
production of waste … both in
Harvard’s own operations and in those
of its suppliers.
Former US VP Al Gore ’68
helps Harvard President Drew
Faust announce Greenhouse
Gas Commitment, Oct 2008
Re-use saves hidden resources…
• We only see the
tip of the “Waste
Berg.” That’s why
it’s much more
better to buy,
use & re-use only
what you need
than to buy too
much and
recycle or
compost it all.
The waste we
see and
handle (e.g.
laptop
computer)
The waste
generated to
create item (100
kg mining ore,
petro-chemicals,
mercury, lithium,
30 metric tons of
tap water),
transport it and
package it—and
the resources
saved if reuse
makes purchase
unnecessary
Harvard Recycling 2010
We harvest the campus “orchard” for environmental benefit
and increased community health. Fruits from a few of our
partnerships in FY 2010:
•Diversion of 709 tons from disposal
•Donation of over $2,500,000 worth of reused furniture,
clothing and books to non-profit organizations and needy
individuals
•Assistance to over 100 Harvard, Massachusetts and
overseas charities
•Raising $102,000 for seven student organizations
•Vocational training to 25 special needs high schoolers
Harvard Campus Refuse Profile, FY2010
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Basic Recyclables:
23%
Compost:
25%
Other recycling:
7%
Trash:
45%
Total refuse
Per capita trash
Per capita recycling
Average per-meal waste, 2002:
Average per-meal waste, 2009:
3,420 tons
3,690 tons
1,086 tons
7,868 tons
16,236 tons
365 pounds
442 pounds
> 5 ounces
< 3 ounces
Surplus diverted from disposal
FY10
Tons
Computers refurbished & sold (Semi-new Computers) or donated
Move-out furniture /clothing/books (220 truckloads)
Office furniture, supplies, appliances for reuse
Mattresses/IRN
Food, cosmetics, cleaning supplies
Non-perishable food
Servable meals to Greater Boston Food Bank
29
192
281
4
2
1
200
TOTAL
709
HHH digs us out from Move-out avalanche
At Move-out time, student volunteers from Harvard Habitat for
Humanity and other organizations sort, clean and process
goods arriving from Harvard Recycling and Dorm Crew
(average 200 truckloads) in order to sort, clean and stage
goods for fall “Stuff Sales”. Profits fund their food, travel and
housing on their trips to build homes for HH in the US and
overseas.
Student Donations at Move-out:
Elements of Success
• Prompt collections by Harvard Recycling keep scavengers at bay
• Official support for program and exclusivity—other student drives
must help sort all goods at warehouse to assure collections
• Professional drivers (Recycling & Landscape)
• Student Dorm Crew cleaners get abandoned goods out of rooms &
set out at truck-friendly locations
• Ergonomic devices make labor easier: hampers, pallet jacks, pallets,
dolleys, roller blades!
• Dean of Students provides college housing & board to 10 volunteers
• Expectation from previous years’ fundraising sets high standards for
current year’s leadership
• Repetitive nature of calendar year enables continuous improvement
• Large sheltered warehouse holds 20,000 sq feet
Pickups from Donation Stations
Corrugated
bin box is
slightly
smaller
volume than
blue hamper.
Can be
upended into
hamper then
retrieved and
left empty.
At Move-out
time (month
of May) we
collect from
48 Donation
Stations
daily.
Photos by Kathryn Harris
Two drivers & lift gate truck.
CAUTION: Unauthorized charities and student drives may
divert goods to their bins, which often do not get picked up
Move-out goods destinations
Upholstered furniture all sold at Stuff Sale. Futons, couches and
upholstered chairs especially popular. Caution: Bedbugs
Clothing & shoes sold at
textile broker to benefit
HHH, Alternative Spring
Break, Harvard Taiwan
Leadership Conference
Cosmetics, cleaning supplies go
to local women’s shelter, Haiti
Ecole Polyvalent
Office furniture sold at Stuff
Sale or given to charities
(Houses of Worship, schools,
municipal offices
Rugs: handmade oriental
rugs sold separately;
machine rugs: Smaller
than 3’ x 5 sell well;
larger iffy; room-sized
hard to sell. Unsold
donated to Haiti
Earthquake relief (they
loaded and took away).
Non-perishable food items go to
local homeless shelters, food
pantries, Greater Boston Food
Bank, Lovin’ Spoonfuls.
Mattresses go to Ecole
Polyvalent, Institution Recycling
Network ( 5 containers to Sierra
Leone, Nicaragua, Grenada).
School supplies, cooking ware,
glassware, cleaning equipment
unsold at Stuff Sale go to Ecole
Polyvalent
Pillows: <10% sell; remainder are picked up
by Haiti Earthquake Relief. Each summer,
undergrad dorms discard 3,000 pillows.
Mini fridges , desk lamps, fans, clocks, some electronics (not printers),
storage cubes, shower caddies, waste baskets, closet organizers all sell well
at Stuff Sale.
Crutches, canes and orthotics: clinics won’t
take them, but some nursing/rehabilitation
homes will. Help Haiti Walk picked up the
rest—collaboration between Partners in
Health, Gentle Giant Movers & Hammond
Real Estate.
Fresh Pond Enrichment Project Box/Duffel Sale
CAUTION: Student organizations are fickle and reliability
fluctuates year to year depending on leadership.
However, once a precedent for raising money is
established, the next year’s captain wants to at least
match previous year’s tally.
Cheap sales of used boxes
and duffels saves
students money. Sales
previously run by
after-school tutoring
program; now
managed by
Environmental Action
Committee to help run
“barn raising”
insulation drives in
local homes. Usual
sales: 15 yards of
flattened moving
boxes raising $2,500.
HHHBook Sale
HHH sells books to:
• Harvard Cooperative Society for re-sale to undergrads and Business School students (and HHH
receives unsold books from the Coop)—typical price 50% of new for relatively clean volumes
• Amazon, Textbooks.com and other on-line venues, depending on amount of sorting time HHH
volunteers want to put in—entrepreneurial accounts enable students to use the funds they raise
for their own HHH expenses
• Better World Books, which buys all ISBN books for at least $1 and recycles what they cannot buy
The Stuff Sale
Best customers: Parents of freshmen,
freshmen and their room mates,
sophomores furnishing suites,
international graduate students,
antiques/furniture collectors ,
neighbors, non-profit organizations
Rented 20 x 20 tent shelters cashier table
and “Reserved/Paid” stash, and provides
shelter for overnight “circle the hampers”
unsold goods. Blue hampers, pallet
jacks, pallets supplied by Harvard
Recycling. Police detail, Events Office
permission, Harvard Recycling deliveries
of goods (up to 10 truckloads) per day.
First day sales at Move-in 2010 Stuff Sale:
$15,000.
Special Sales
Sidewalk Sales for Allston neighbors
Trailer storage & sales (2002) before warehouse
available. Cons: small space, tight quarters. Pros:
off-site storage, instant delivery without
additional handling
“Earlybird” sales give Cambridge
residents first pick of goods.
Stuff Sale prices
Futons/Couches
Black metal futon frame
Large futon mattress
Wooden futon frame
Small metal Ikea futon with small mattress
2-seater couch
3-seater couch
$100
$25
$125
$60
$50
$60
New $250
give or take $20
give or take $20
Wall items
Mirror
(full-length)
Mirror
(table-top)
Metal over-the-door hanger
$7
$4
$3
lowest COOP price $15
Rugs
Small
Medium
Large
3 x 5 and below
to 6 x 9
over 6 x 9
$6
$8
$10
Plastic furniture/storage
3-drawer cart
Single plastic drawer
Yaffa cube
Yaffa standing block
large under-bed box
milk crates
$10
$5
$3
$3
$8
$5
$20 at Staples
$25 at COOP
$7 at COOP
$3
$6 at COOP
$20 at COOP
Trash cans
Small
Special items from building
renovations: 1928 crystal
chandelier ($500), Bidjar oriental
rug ($4,000), antiques ($12,000)
stored in warehouse which
Business School had been paying to
store, but costs were too great
Habitat for Humanity Sourcebook Sale
Better World Books sells ISBN
books which Habitat has not sold
directly to bookstores, Amazon or
other on-line ventures.
Sourcebooks, which have no ISBN,
are of no value to BWB. However,
these custom-printed books put
together by Harvard professors
can cost well over $100 so are
valuable for re-sale on our
campus. Harvard Habitat for
Humanity’s summer and Spring
Break trips to international build
sites are funded by book sales.
Featured in “The Social Network;”
production crew gave HHH $1,000
check.
The Take
• 1995:
$300
• 2009: $102,000
• Money raised enables HHH members to travel
to Habitat domestic & international build sites
CAUTION: Students are not used to handling money according to
standard accounting practices. Campus umbrella organization
holds bank accounts and trains leaders in sound financial
practices (i.e., no Cuban cigars or limosines to penthouse parties).
Office Donations Year-Round:
Elements of Success
• Receive goods from movers any weekday 8-4
• Donations distributed by Harvard Recycling takes responsibility
for recipients off building management (i.e., they won’t hold
goods for employees)
• Weekly distribution keeps stock fresh for Thursday “shoppers”
• Rich and varied refuse stream: residences, offices, laboratories,
libraries, classrooms, dining services
• All goods are free—diversion from disposal pays all costs of
program
• Repetitive nature of calendar year enables continuous
improvement
• Large sheltered warehouse holds 20,000 sq feet; outdoor parking
lot another 5,000
Surplus Distribution
Harvard Free Surplus Furniture
Distribution, every Thursday from 11 AM
- 2 PM, 175 North Harvard Street, Allston
MA.
Depending on weather and advertisement
(Harvard Recycling Update, craigslist), up
to 200 visitors have come at once.
Caution: Liability– need for parking
monitor, “Safety Speech,”
registration, queue with 3-second
delay between entrants
Visitors eagerly await arrival of fresh
truckloads.
Partners in charity
Seeding Labs enlists student and faculty volunteers
to label items of potential use to third world labs.
Harvard Recycling picks them up with other bulk
reusables and recyclables and holds them in the
HHH Warehouse until we have a truckload. Then
SL’s mover comes and takes it away to be packed
into an overseas shipping container to Kenya or
Argentina.
The Institution Recycling Network coordinates recovery
of reusable furniture from US campuses and ships them
to nations in need of disaster relief. They have shipped
goods from over 100 residential campuses to nearly 50
nations. In the summer of 2010, Harvard dispatched
overseas shipping containers to Haiti, Grenada,
Honduras and Sierra Leone. Here in the US, the IRN also
recovers and recycles e-waste and Universal Waste.
Better World Books reuses or recycles all the books
HHH sends them. Of the 17,000 books we have
sent them since 2007, 60% were reused. HHH has
received over $10,000 from the sale of these books.
These efforts have conserved 41 cubic yards of
landfill space and reduced the CO2 equivalent of
25,000 tons.
“Suzie’s Crew” prepares goods for
overseas shipping container
load to benefit Port Au Prince
“Notre Dame de al Providence
Misericordieuse” Center School
and Orphanage. Suzie Ligonde,
Cambridge nurse, is Haitian
native and sister-in-law to
Archbishop Ligonde. IRN
helped link Suzie with shipping
containers and contacts, which
she now funds herself.
LABBB/Semi-New Computers
Special needs students of high
school age get vocational
training refurbishing and
repairing surplus desktop
PC’s from Harvard.
Program entirely selfsupporting; September
2010 sales: 60 units,
$6,000. Harvard Recycling
also pays LABBB students
sheltered workshop wages
to sort batteries, phones,
and other e-waste for more
efficient recycling.
Valentine’s Day Cosmetics Drive
Collection of unused
cosmetics & toiletries
co-sponsored by EcoRep program benefits
women’s shelter.
Lulu & friends are
looking pretty!
Average delivery:
1,800 pounds
REP donors enjoy helping. One
volunteer, an expert
manicurist, now comes every
year to do all the women’s
nails. Valentine’s Cosmetics
Drive & Party is an annual
fixture on both REP and shelter
calendar.
Thank-you notes from the residents
"Thank you so much for the nice donations. Everything
was great and very useful. Thank you. There are still
wonderful people in this world. Greatly appreciated." DB
"Thank you so much for all the wonderful donations. You
have no idea how much this helps me! I can not afford
these products normally so having them makes me feel
beautiful in the inside & out!" SH
"Thank you all so much. I enjoyed the party and am using
the products I received as gifts. God bless you and your
loved ones." LG
FreeCycles
Photo by Dara Olmsted, Office for
Sustainability
• Staff get the chance to
swap unneeded
surplus close to their
offices. Harvard
Recycling provides
tent, totes, hampers,
trash/recycling, a
“seed hamper” of
goods, and retrieves
all unclaimed
donations for Surplus
Distribution
Elements of success in donations
to local charities
•Keep requests from charities and needy individuals and when
the goods arrive, give them a special opportunity to pick up
(generally requires a truckload)
•Be flexible on pickup times as charities often have trouble
getting a vehicle
•Be prepared to offer lift gate help, loading labor
•Ask for thank-you letters to shore up political support for
program
•Offer precise inventories with brand and model names
• Caution: require receiving charities to specify what they need so you
can call them if we receive it. If you don’t do this, they will want to
come every week and take up your time shopping around.
Tomasello Boxing Club
Used weightlifting equipment from Harvard Athletics (took estimated two tons)
Boston Mayor Tom
Menino drives the
“Busycle” to promote
human-powered
transportation.
Busycle parts
scavenged from
unsalable bikes, office
chairs, scrap metal
from Harvard Surplus.
Wooden crates from shipping art to museums
and instruments to labs make ideal garden
boxes for local day care center.
…So old John Harvard can learn how to be
green while helping his younger neighbors.
Contact
Elizabeth Cole-Fay
elizabeth.colefay@riosalado.edu
Tod Scott
tods@uwyo.edu
Rob Gogan
rob_gogan@harvard.edu