Sustainability. Yes it is possible!

As you can see from my last few blogs, I have been focusing on ways that I can do my part to help our environment preserve it's natural resources, making it better for all of us.  This blog, I have decided to put my focus on my college campus.  I currently attend Riverside City College, and I want to see just how "green" our campus really is. 

There are many areas around campus that would affect our "green" status, however I have listed just a few of them.

• How much wast is thrown out on a monthly basis on campus.
• How much energy is used on a monthly basis on campus.
• How many trees do we have on campus.
• How much does our campus spend on water services on a monthly basis.
• Do we have a recycling program in place on campus.  Are students and faculty aware of these programs.

These are questions that not only I ask, but many other Colleges and Universities around the nation ask as well.  The University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, actually completed a sustainability assessment recently to help them with their goal to achieve carbon neutrality over the next 40 years.

University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth    www.umassd.edu

Their assessment is titled "Responsibility and Renewal".  They started with baseline calculations, suggested improvements, and made a blueprint for long term sustainable planning and management.  This assessment took 2 years to complete, and included information and surveying of over 200 faculty, staff, and students.

Their assessment includes the areas of purchasing, waste, transportation, and land use, as well as many other areas.

You can click on the link below to see the complete assessment (140 pages long).  This will give you a better idea of how detailed the campus needed to be, to ensure they have all the information needed to make a reliable plan for sustainability.

www.umassd.edu/sustainability/campussustainability/assessment

If I was to choose just one of the areas I mentioned above, and complete an assessment of my campus' current sustainability, I would choose the question "How much waste is thrown out on a monthly basis".

To do this, I will first contact the President of Riverside City College, Dr. Cynthia Azari, and ask for permission to conduct this assessment.  I will present her with my plan and express how I believe this assessment will only help our school achieve a "green" status faster.

Next I will contact Ralph Perez, Director of Facilities/Operations and Maintenance at RCC.  I will ask if he could tell me how many times the trash is picked up by Waste Management each month, and if he had an average weight of each pick up.  I will also ask Mr. Perez if we have any current plans in place to help limit the amount of waste we use, such as recycling programs.

I will also contact someone in Accounting Services to see if they could give me an estimate of how much money the campus pays monthly for waste removal.

Now it is time to make a plan!

Let's start with a baseline, which is how many pounds of waste is removed from campus on a weekly basis.
Now, we will implement a recycling program on campus, that will consist of cardboard recycling bins placed strategically throughout the campus.  I know for a fact that the new math and science building, which is four stories high, does not have any recycle bins on any of the floors.  There are plenty of regular trash cans though, which only gives students and faculty the excuse to toss trash that COULD be recycled into the county landfill system.

I will work with Mr. Perez to keep a tally of how much waste is removed on a weekly basis for the entire Fall 2012 semester.  I will monitor any trends, whether positive or negative, and make adjustments to my plan if things are not working out in a positive way.

There will be no labor costs as I will be tallying the data myself.  There will be no additional costs for the maintenance department since they will still keep their regular work load.  Also, I will ask Dr. Huff, faculty adviser for the Sustainability Club, if they would be willing to be responsible for the recycling bins, and in return, the club could keep the funds received from recycling for their clubs activities.

Finally, I plan to get the support of the entire faculty and student body by showing them that by making some small changes, we can not only help preserve our natural resources and help the environment, but we can also save money for the campus, and that might just help us during these tough budget times.  Maybe, just maybe, we can stop the reducing of available classes each semester.

I know this seems like a lot to concur, but I'm up for the challenge!

The new Math & Science building  www.rcc.edu