Alex Credgington – 91̽��News

Husky Stadium recognized as ‘Game Changer’ in sustainability

Alex Credgington — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 20:33:20 +0000

The newly renovated Husky stadium is starting the fall season with a win for the environment. Today, the Natural Resources Defense Council featured Husky Stadium in its list of ten “Collegiate Game Changers”—University athletic programs that excel in green practices. A highlighting the stadium’s sustainable accomplishments is included in a report by the council.

Artist’s rendering of the remodeled Husky Stadium

“The sustainability-focused renovation of Husky Stadium is only the beginning,” said Karen Baebler, assistant athletic director at UW. “We also plan to renovate our approach to green practices during games and in our operations.”

These green practices include a new energy tracking system; projects to conserve energy, water and paper; waste diversion initiatives (including 100 percent recyclable and compostable serviceware); and fan engagement programs to promote sustainability.

The 91̽�� is home to 19 sports teams.

“The reach of Husky athletics is enormous,” said Claudia Frere, director of Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability. “When you think of the thousands of fans who attend 91̽��games, there’s a sense of responsibility to set the best example we can in our sustainability efforts. It’s a mission 91̽��takes seriously.”

The 91̽�� was recently among the top environmentally-friendly schools in the United States by the Sierra Club and the Princeton Review.

91̽��electronics-recycling pledge: Prevent harm to people, environment

Alex Credgington — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:15:39 +0000

The 91̽�� has become the first university nationally to sign the , a pledge to be globally responsible in recycling electronic equipment.

The UW, which collects and recycles more than 90 tons of used electronic equipment a year, already uses a recycler that is e-Stewards certified. Signing the agreement formalizes the university’s commitment to that practice, according to Emily Newcomer, manager.

Cell phones on the way to recycling. Photo: 91̽��Recycling

“Electronic devices are big a part of our lives,” she said. “TVs, computers, printers, cell phones and others are all recyclable, but they have to be recycled responsibly.”

Many electronic devices contain substances such as lead, chromium and mercury – compounds that are toxic to humans and the environment. The substances are not considered hazardous to users because they are well contained within the devices. When devices are recycled, however, they are broken apart to prepare materials for reuse and these substances can present a significant hazard to recycling factory workers if not handled appropriately.

To maximize profits, some recyclers export electronics to developing countries where laborers may work under unsafe, unregulated conditions.

The e-Stewards certification, developed by the , seeks to hold electronics recycling companies accountable through a certification process that sets standards of environmental responsibility and worker protection.

When students scram, tons of items find new homes

Alex Credgington — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:26:45 +0000

91̽�� Recycling wants to turn unwanted items into social change.

As a new school year begins, so do the university’s efforts to collect and donate reusable items that might otherwise go to the landfill including books that raise money to fight illiteracy and backpacks donated to Real Change newspaper sellers.

A student donates clothing at a collection site outside Terry Hall, part of more than 8,000 pounds of clothing donated this year. Photo: A. Credgington/ 91̽��Recycling

“With the help of partners like 91̽��Recycling, we’ve raised more than $11 million for literacy,” said Tracy Kolar, campus account representative for Better World Books—an organization that raises funds for literacy by selling used books online. “The books 91̽��Recycling collected and sent us will produce funding for the National Center for Family Literacy and PlanUSA, providing disaster relief in Haiti.We’re also the single largest donor of Books for Africa, so some of the books will probably end up being shipped to Africa.”

Last spring, for example, 91̽��Recycling collected about 30 boxes of books through the UW’s SCRAM program. SCRAM, which stands for Student Cleanup, Recycle and Moveout, is a charity drive that collects unwanted reusable items from students leaving the residence halls at the end of each school year.

Husky Neighborhood Cleanup is a bi-annual donation event in the North Campus neighborhood that also provides drop-off locations for reusable items when students who live in the area are moving in or out.

“We used to see a lot perfectly good, still usable items being discarded outside the properties and in nearby dumpsters,” said Kristin Elko, program coordinator at 91̽��Recycling. “We wanted to give people a convenient way to donate these items to help others and keep them out of the landfill.”

Combined, these events collect an average of nearly 15 tons of reusable items per year. Earlier this year, 91̽��Recycling donated 1,540 pounds of food to the University District Food Bank; over 8,000 pounds of clothing to Northwest Center; 2,000 pounds of electronics to InterConnection; 980 pounds of toiletries and emergency kit backpacks to Real Change; and much more.

“Toiletries are not covered by food stamps and other government aid,” said Jenn Pearson, volunteer manager for Real Change. “Having access to a large, free supply is a great gift to our vendors.”

Real Change publishes the only “street newspaper” in Washington state, focusing on poverty and social justice stories. The newspaper is sold by more than 350 low-income and homeless adults who act as independent vendors—paying Real Change 35 cents for each newspaper and reselling the paper on the street for the dollar cover price plus tips.

Students are welcome to keep the emergency supplies and backpack when they depart, but many donate them, as shown by 91̽��staff member Chris Wren and a Real Change volunteer. Real Change offers them to their newspaper sellers. Photo: A. Credgington/ 91̽��Recycling

These independent vendors position themselves on corners and by stores. They often must carry their belongings to the selling sites.

Each school year, 91̽��residence halls issue a bright-red emergency backpack to each new resident. The backpacks include a three-day supply of food bars and water, a blanket, a whistle and a glow stick. When students leave the dorms, many of them donate their backpack during the SCRAM clean up, recycle and move-out event.

“We were seeing an increasing number of red backpacks at our collection sites in recent years,” said Elko, who sought a community partner who might benefit specifically from the backpacks.

Real Change was a perfect fit.

“We received 177 red backpacks from SCRAM this past year for our gear giveaway,” said Pearson. “They are very sought-after by our vendors, both for the emergency supplies within them and for the backpack itself. The 91̽��Recycling staff seems genuinely pleased to see items being put to good use.”

Dirty to Digital: 91̽��introduces ‘intelligent kiosks for composting, recycling, garbage

Alex Credgington — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:55:00 +0000

Solar-powered. Wireless. Data-driven. You might not think of these terms when describing waste collection, but this traditionally low-tech field is about to become less dirty and more digital thanks to a new program at UW.

As part of a just-launched pilot, a number of the existing outdoor garbage and recycling cans on Red Square have been replaced with high-tech, automated kiosks that collect more types of materials. The kiosks will be officially launched during a small ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:30 a.m., Friday, April 20, during Earth Day festivities.

High-tech kiosks are monitored remotely and compact contents, meaning fewer trips to check and empty them. Photo: News and Information

The new kiosks consist of three containers for sorting waste – composting, recycling and garbage – each of which is equipped with a sensor that regularly measures the mass of material inside. This information is reported wirelessly to 91̽��Recycling & Solid Waste staff. When any of the three containers in a kiosk reaches a preset capacity, the device sends a text message notifying staff that the container is ready to be serviced.

Staff also can run reports based on historic collection information.

“The software records whats going on with the hardware,” said Jonathan Hempton of BigBelly Solar, the company that supplies this waste collection system. “By logging into the online dashboard, staff are able to see whats happening on the ground in real-time rather than having to regularly check containers by hand.”

The garbage container also has an automated compactor that increases the amount of garbage space by roughly 500 percent over the previous cans, and will eliminate four out of every five collection trips, according to Hempton. Whats more, the kiosks are completely solar powered.

“Its changing the way we think about waste,” said 91̽��Recycling & Solid Waste Manager Emily Newcomer. “We expect the increased capacity and the as-needed servicing to dramatically reduce our fuel use and disposal costs while using a sustainable energy source to create these efficiencies.”

The kiosks also include built-in billboards that will be used for educating the public about the benefits of composting and recycling, as well as how to appropriately sort waste materials into the containers.

The 91̽��will be the first university in the country to use this system to capture all three waste types, composting, recycling and garbage, in an outdoor public area.

91̽��Recycling & Solid Waste sought the kiosks in response to results from the 2011 annual Trash-In event during which volunteers sifted through a sample of campus garbage and found that 61 percent of garbage from Red Square was actually compostable.

91̽��works to keep Styrofoam out of landfills

Alex Credgington — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:01:35 +0000

The 91̽��has banned it, but the stuff worms its way onto campus packed in boxes. Its ubiquitous Styrofoam (the common name for foamed polystyrene), which has permeated the world as a low-cost, lightweight material with a wide array of uses. But the material is toxic and it never goes away.

Thats why 91̽��Recycling started a Styrofoam recycling program a year ago that is now being expanded.

“Its impossible to say if foamed polystyrene will ever be completely replaced,” said Eric Johnson, manager of 91̽��Recycling & Solid Waste. “We need to deal with the Styrofoam that ends up in our hands before it heads to the landfill.”

Why is Styrofoam so bad? The chemicals used in its production are known carcinogens, Johnson said. While it is considered safe in everyday use, it is extremely toxic when burned. As a result, it cannot safely be incinerated and typically ends up in the landfill after a single use, where it takes up considerable space.

Not only that, but no known microorganism has yet been shown to biodegrade Styrofoam. Even more concerning, the lightweight, bead-like material breaks apart easily and can enter back into the surrounding environment carried by birds, wind and water flow, where it is deadly to wildlife and toxic to humans.

“We began the 91̽��program by collecting Styrofoam blocks and containers from campus buildings, such as Magnuson Health Sciences Center, that generate a large volume of the material,” said Johnson. “Weve now expanded the program campus-wide.”

In 2010, the University recycled 1,334 pounds of Styrofoam. Since Styrofoam is so light, this is a small weight compared to other recyclables. However, the space savings in the landfill is much more significant, Johnson said. Packing peanuts—another form of Styrofoam material—are also collected and provided free to local organizations and schools. In fact, last year the 91̽��School of Drama used some of these packing peanuts to fill beanbag chairs on one of its sets.

Styrofoam is easily recycled into new products, but due to its lightweight nature it is not economical to collect in its original form. To recycle Styrofoam, 91̽��contracts with a local company, , to process the material into a reusable form that can be remade into plastic products.

“It takes a lot to make a little,” said Marilyn Lauderdale, owner of V & G Styro Recycle. “We have a thermal processor that grinds, crushes and compresses the material. Once we generate 40,000 pounds, its sold to a manufacturer.”

Through her companys process, the material changes in density at a ratio of about 50:1 and is shaped into manageable bricks. This usable form can then be easily shipped to companies that make a variety of plastic products.

“As youre sitting at your computer, the monitor youre looking at, the keyboard and mouse youre using could be made from recycled Styrofoam,” said Lauderdale. “Since we opened our doors, weve diverted over 200 tons of Styrofoam from the landfill. Its not a big moneymaker, but its an unmet need.”

The benefits of recycling Styrofoam at the 91̽��are many, according to Johnson. “It reduces the amount of landfill-bound waste, it cuts garbage collection costs, and it reduces the number of plastic bags needed to contain the garbage. We expect the program to continue to expand in the years ahead.”

Departments can recycle Styrofoam by collecting it in clear plastic bags and taking it to their buildings loading dock. For details on exactly how this should be done, see the Recycling and Solid Waste .