Did You Know?

In the first quarter alone of the last academic year the university recycled 27,279 pounds of fiber materials including paper, newsprint, cardboard, magazines and books.

The grounds staff report recycling 20 gallons of motor oil, 15 vehicle/equipment batteries, 5 tires and 200 cubic yards of brush and tree limbs.

The Operations Department recycles 400 pounds of scrap metal annually and three cubic yards of kitchen grease each quarter.

USF salvages discarded campus furniture, doors, shelving, etc. for use in art projects or for schools and churches in Honduras. In the last 5 years, two semi-truck loads of furniture have been donated to the Lions Club for re-use.

Wood from trees on campus recovered after storms or cut down because of age is utilized in woodworking projects, boards, frames and furniture or used in the wood-fired ceramics kiln.

USF now allows employees to recycle batteries from their homes. The university now averages approximately 225 pounds per year of alkaline, lead, cadmium and other types of batteries recycled compared to the previous annual average of 60 pounds. USF thinks this new program keeps more batteries out of municipal landfills.

Even though the USF has added buildings to the campus and changed most fixtures from incandescent to fluorescent and LED sources, the volume of fluorescent lamps recycled has decreased from about 425 pounds per year to 400 pounds per year. This is the result of energy minimization tactics and changes in operations policy, such as “lights off” and “low lighting” policies.

USF employs staff certified in Refrigerant Transition and Recovery. These employees recover refrigerant from old centrifuges or window air conditioners and save it until needed for other equipment on campus.

USF’s commitment to environmental efforts and the community has resulted in the initiation of an annual electronics recycling event. In the inaugural event on April 19, 2008, USF collected 7293 pounds of electronics from the community for recycling by RecycleForce. On April 4, 2009 the second such event collected 10,288 pounds of equipment.

A student-driven bicycle loan program, the Tour de France, was initiated in 2008. A small but growing fleet of bikes is available for students to borrow. USF has increased number of bike racks on campus to encourage bicycle use on campus.

USF has strived to maintain a status of conditionally exempt small quantity generator status. Hazardous or special waste streams are minimal because materials are often re-used indefinitely. For example, pickling liquid for jewelry making, solder for welding and metal sculpture, and clay in ceramics are re-used. The photography lab includes a unit that recovers silver from photo fixer. The silver is sent for recycling and the fixer is reused in the photo developing process. Chemicals needed for special purposes like science labs are purchased in small quantities.

Annually the university consumes 650 cases of white copy paper or 3,250 000 sheets, in addition to the multi use white copy paper, 105 cases or 525,000 sheets of pastel colors, 400,125 sheets of miscellaneous paper. We currently use Wausau paper it is Green Seal certified this means they meet the highest degree of environmental excellence. Green Seal certification verifies that the paper bearing its logo has at least 30% recycled post-consumer fiber and passes Green Seal’s rigorous standards.
Annually the university also consumes 200,000 sheets of letterhead and 350,000 envelopes these items are ordered through the university's marketing company.
In 2005 we recycled 2,200 lbs. of glass and plastic bottles. In 2006 this dropped to 1,480 lbs. and sadly again in 2007 it dropped to only 700 lbs. Although it is early in the year, we are predicting an increase to 1,100 lbs in 2008. Help us with this prediction by recycling all the glass and plastic bottles you throw away. You may even bring in your items from home and recycle them at our recycle centers. We are collecting aluminum, glass, plastic bottles, paper, pull tabs, print cartridges and small batteries. Thank you for your help.

The United States is the largest energy consumer in terms of total use, using 100 quadrillion BTUs in 2005.
In 2007, Americans will spend an average of $5,000 on energy for both their home and vehicles.
The Department of Energy figures that 95% of the energy most electronic devices use is when they are turned off, but still drawing energy.
A five-minute shower uses about the same amount of water as a bath. If you simply can't get down to five minutes for your shower, then you are better off taking a bath.
You can improve your gas mileage by up to 4% by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure.
Speeding, rapid acceleration, and excess braking wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and 5% around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.
Lighting accounts for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Compact fluorescent lamps use 75% less energy than incandescent lamps.
Electronics on standby use 10% of a homes electricity.

Source: City of Fort Wayne's Green City email newsletter - January 2008 Edition

A Ton of CO2e is Emitted When You:

To Offset 1,000 Tons of CO2e You Could:

Move 145 drivers from large SUVs to hybrids for one year.
Run one 600 kW wind turbine for an average year.
Replace 500 100-watt light bulbs with 18-watt compact fluorescent lights (10-year life).
Replace 2,000 refrigerators with the highest efficiency model (10-year life).
Install 125 home solar panels in India (20-year life).
Plant an acre of Douglas fir trees (50 years of growth).
Protect four acres of tropical rainforest from deforestation.

Average CO2e Emissions per Year:

Source: A Consumers' Guide to Retail Carbon Offset Providers