Recycling Office of Waste Reduction...
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Page not displaying correctly? Click here to view it in your browser. Back Issues Here. Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling wastereduction.unc.edu | 919-962-1442 April 2014 | Volume 3, Issue 3 Upcoming Events UNC Science Expo: April 12, 10 a.m. to 3p.m., Cameron Avenue. Visit the NC Science Festival for demonstrations, hands-on activities, behind- the-scenes tours of research labs, exhibits, stage presentations and science- related arts and crafts at the UNC Science Expo. OWRR will have a booth by the Old Well with information on plastics recycling and vermicompost! More information here . Earth Week Hard to Recycle Drive: April 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Pit. Bring batteries, electronics, and plastic bags for OWRR’s Hard-to-Recycle Drive! Stay for Earth Week festivities including games and exhibits on recycling and composting, energy efficiency, and high performance building features with student groups and campus departments. More information here . Green Events Training: April 14, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Union 3205. Join us for the semester’s final Green Events training session! Come out and learn everything you need to know in order to host certified Carolina Green Events. Green Events provide an important opportunity for your organization to reduce its environmental impact, help UNC meet its sustainability goals, save money, and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability to event attendees. For more information, visit go.unc.edu/GreenEvents. Earth Week Swap Shop: April 15, 16, & 17, 11 Waste Reduction and Recycling Champion: Department of Housing and Residential Education April’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Champions are the Department of Housing and Residential Education . In addition to being steadfast partners with OWRR in supporting Residential Green Games, Housing is always looking at ways to reduce waste, encourage recycling and composting, and support sustainability. The Sustainability Living and Learning Community, housed in Morrison Residence Hall, is filled with students dedicated to making the university a greener place. Through participating in recycling drives, residential composting initiatives, or spearheading Morrison’s participation in the Campus Conservation Nationals, a nationwide energy reduction competition, the students in the Sustainability LLC are leading the way to a greener Carolina! Debbie Bousquet, a Facilities Planner for DHRE, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and was named a “Sustainability Hero” in the 2013 Campus Sustainability Report. This was in recognition of her ongoing passion for making things as green as possible in the residence halls at Carolina. This includes making sure as much waste as possible gets diverted from the landfill during construction and renovation projects, using environmentally friendly materials, making sure used mattresses get recycled, to incorporating the “It’s Easy Being Green” philosophy into all aspects of her job and doing her best to pass that on and foster that in others. This philosophy has led to a productive partnership between Housing, OWRR and TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers) during student move-out with Tar Heel Treasure, wherein TROSA uses their staff and moving trucks to pick up virtually everything from the donation stations (pictured below) in the residence halls, making for a clean, green, and efficient move-out that benefits the local community as well! For more information on the Department of Housing and Residential Education, visit http://housing.unc.edu/. To learn more about Tar Heel Treasure, visit our Student Move-Out Guide . Program Spotlight: Residential Green Games 20th Anniversary! The Residential Green Games Competition wrapped up a successful year on Tuesday, April 8 th at its annual Awards Ceremony. Over 30 Green Games Coordinators and Community Directors from across campus came out to the ceremony to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and see the final standings. The 2013-2014 competition marked the program’s 20 th year, and participation has been steadily growing; this year saw a 40% increase in participation compared to last year. For the fourth year in a row, Connor Community took the top prize with over 5000 points, with Hinton James in OWRR Trash Talk > Read More 5/12/2014 http://trashtalk.wastereduction.unc.edu/readmore/#champions 1 / 4
Transcript of Recycling Office of Waste Reduction...
Page not displaying correctly? Click here to view it in your browser. Back Issues Here.
Office of Waste Reduction andRecycling
wastereduction.unc.edu | 919-962-1442 April 2014 | Volume 3, Issue 3
UpcomingEvents
UNC Science Expo:April 12, 10 a.m. to 3p.m.,
Cameron Avenue.
Visit the NC ScienceFestival for demonstrations,hands-on activities, behind-
the-scenes tours of researchlabs, exhibits, stage
presentations and science-related arts and crafts at theUNC Science Expo. OWRRwill have a booth by the Old
Well with information onplastics recycling andvermicompost! More
information here.
Earth Week Hard toRecycle Drive: April 14, 10
a.m. to 2 p.m., the Pit.
Bring batteries,electronics, and plastic bagsfor OWRR’s Hard-to-RecycleDrive! Stay for Earth Weekfestivities including gamesand exhibits on recyclingand composting, energy
efficiency, and highperformance building
features with student groupsand campus departments.
More information here.
Green Events Training:April 14, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.,
Union 3205.
Join us for thesemester’s final Green
Events training session!Come out and learn
everything you need to knowin order to host certifiedCarolina Green Events.Green Events provide animportant opportunity for
your organization to reduceits environmental impact,
help UNC meet itssustainability goals, savemoney, and demonstrate
your commitment tosustainability to eventattendees. For more
information, visitgo.unc.edu/GreenEvents.
Earth Week SwapShop: April 15, 16, & 17, 11
Waste Reduction and RecyclingChampion: Department of Housingand Residential Education
April’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Champions are the Departmentof Housing and Residential Education. In addition to being steadfastpartners with OWRR in supporting Residential Green Games, Housing isalways looking at ways to reduce waste, encourage recycling andcomposting, and support sustainability.
The Sustainability Living and Learning Community, housed in MorrisonResidence Hall, is filled with students dedicated to making the university agreener place. Through participating in recycling drives, residentialcomposting initiatives, or spearheading Morrison’s participation in theCampus Conservation Nationals, a nationwide energy reductioncompetition, the students in the Sustainability LLC are leading the way toa greener Carolina!
Debbie Bousquet, a Facilities Planner for DHRE, is a LEED AccreditedProfessional, and was named a “Sustainability Hero” in the 2013 CampusSustainability Report. This was in recognition of her ongoing passion formaking things as green as possible in the residence halls at Carolina. Thisincludes making sure as much waste as possible gets diverted from thelandfill during construction and renovation projects, using environmentallyfriendly materials, making sure used mattresses get recycled, toincorporating the “It’s Easy Being Green” philosophy into all aspects of herjob and doing her best to pass that on and foster that in others.
This philosophy has led to aproductive partnership betweenHousing, OWRR and TROSA(Triangle Residential Options forSubstance Abusers) duringstudent move-out with Tar HeelTreasure, wherein TROSA usestheir staff and moving trucks topick up virtually everything from thedonation stations (picturedbelow) in the residence halls,making for a clean, green, and efficient move-out that benefits the localcommunity as well!
For more information on the Department of Housing and ResidentialEducation, visit http://housing.unc.edu/. To learn more about Tar HeelTreasure, visit our Student Move-Out Guide.
Program Spotlight: ResidentialGreen Games 20th Anniversary!
The Residential Green Games Competition wrapped up a successfulyear on Tuesday, April 8th at its annual Awards Ceremony. Over 30 GreenGames Coordinators and Community Directors from across campus cameout to the ceremony to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and see thefinal standings.
The 2013-2014 competition marked the program’s 20th year, andparticipation has been steadily growing; this year saw a 40% increase inparticipation compared to last year. For the fourth year in a row, ConnorCommunity took the top prize with over 5000 points, with Hinton James in
OWRR Trash Talk > Read More 5/12/2014
http://trashtalk.wastereduction.unc.edu/readmore/#champions 1 / 4
Shop: April 15, 16, & 17, 11a.m. to 2 p.m., Polk Place.
Clean out your closet.Save money. Reuse. Why
shop when you can SWAP?Unload your clean unwanted
clothes, accessories,books, and decorative items.
Pick up new-to-youfashions, literature, and
décor! Take as much or aslittle as you like – it’s all
free. This Earth Week eventis co-sponsored by EpsilonEta. More information here.
WasteReductionTip: StudentMove-Out
As you start packing tomove out of your school year
residences, you maydiscover that you've
collected a lot more "junk"than you arrived with. You'llprobably decide that someof this stuff will have to go,
but don't throw it away!Other people can use itemsyou think are junk, and youdon't need to go very far tofind a place to donate your
stuff.
Live on-campus? Visityour community’s donation
station to unload carpet,clothes, books, appliances,household items, unopened
food, school supplies,electronics, computer
equipment, and furniture.Visit our Student Move-Out
Guide for a full list ofaccepted items and
donation station locations.
Live off-campus? Unloadat the 2nd Annual StudentMove-Out Reuse Rodeo,hosted by Orange County
Solid Waste and reusepartners. More information
here.
Question ofthe Month:What aboutBottle Caps?
At UNC and inneighboring areas, keep
your plastic bottle caps ON.
In the past, you mayhave heard to remove anddispose of plastic bottle
caps in the trash. It’s true
the runner up position with over 2500 points.
To commemorate the 20th year anniversary, Green Games establisheda new award to honor one of the program’s great long-time supporters.Director of Housing and Residential Education Larry Hicks, who was inattendance on Tuesday, presented the Larry Hicks Honorary Award forOutstanding Environmental Education and Outreach to Samuel Slattery ofConnor Community. Also receiving awards were Tyler Billman ofEhringhaus and Olivia Jones and Rachel Lee of Hinton James for mostdedicated Green Games Coordinators. The program has come a long wayin its 20 year history and hopes to continue expanding on its currentsuccess.
Waste and Water Watch: SinkFloat Separation
In keeping with UNC’s pan-campus theme, Water In Our World, OWRRpresents Waste and Water Watch as a regular newsletter section tohighlight waste topics related to water use, protection, and quality. Tolearn more about the three-year campus theme, visit watertheme.unc.edu.This month, we’ll highlight how water plays a significant role in therecycling sorting process.
One of the most common recycling sorting technologies is a sink floattank, which uses water to separate materials of differing densities. Waterhas the density of 1 g/cm3. Therefore, materials with greater density willsink and materials with lesser density will float. This allows MaterialRecovery Facilities (MRFs) to easily sort different types of plastics.
In the case of plastic bottle recycling, bottles are shredded beforeentering the sink float water bath. Bottle plastic flakes (PET) will sink tothe bottom while cap plastic flakes (PP or HDPE) will float to the top.
Check out this video by Closed Loop Recycling or stop by OWRR’sbooth at the UNC Science Expo to see float sink separation in action!
How Are We Doing?The UNC Office of Waste Reduction & Recycling keeps detailed waste
statistics and data while tracking our progress in recycling and wastereduction. Our current year to date recycling rate stands at 47.6%. Thatmeans that of all the waste generated on campus, almost half is gettingrecycled! When the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling first startedout twenty five years ago, the campus recycling rate was just 12%. Intwenty five years we’ve quadrupled the amount of material that getsrecycled across campus while expanding programs that allow studentsand faculty to get involved!
OWRR Trash Talk > Read More 5/12/2014
http://trashtalk.wastereduction.unc.edu/readmore/#champions 2 / 4
caps in the trash. It’s truethat caps and bottles are
made from different types ofplastic – the bottle itself
from PET and the cap fromPP or HDPE. Due toimproved recycling
processing technology andincreased demand for PP
and HDPE, caps arecommonly recyclable.
It’s important to screwthe caps back onto the
bottle. Otherwise the smallcap may be filtered out
during an earlier screeningprocess. Read about howcap and bottle plastics are
sorted via float-sinkseparation in the Waste &Water Section at right. Formore information on bottle
caps, visit the Association ofPostconsumer Plastic
Recyclers FAQs.
WhyRecycle?As UNC Chapel Hill comes
upon the celebration of EarthWeek, don’t forget about
how important recycling is toprotecting our earth! In NorthCarolina, recycling providesover 17,000 jobs and that
means money for oureconomy and a positive
impact for our environment.Keeping material out of the
landfill is essential, aslandfills are the largest
source of methane and theirtoxic leachate can seep into
and contaminategroundwater and soil. On
campus you’ll see bins forrecycling in buildings, on
walkways and mosteverywhere you look. Whenyou put your paper or bottle
into the recycling bin,they’re turned into awesome
new products like bikes,buildings, cars and clothes.
Recycling saves energy,prevents pollution, creates
jobs and saves money.Keep an eye on our next
newsletter for moreinformation about how
recycling creates such apositive impact in so many
different ways!
Get Featuredin Trash Talk
Send us yoursuggestions for CampusRecycling Champions,Question of the Month,
Waste Reduction Tips, orother sections! If your
submission is published,you’ll win an OWRR Prize
For more historical and current waste trend data, visit our ProgramResults page.
Connect with OWRRSubmit a Service Request
P (919) 962-1442 | F (919) 962-8794
Facebook | @UNCRecycles
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Off ice Use: Login
Pack filled with reusable,refillable, recycled-content
prizes! Send yoursubmissions to
OWRR Trash Talk > Read More 5/12/2014
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