Trash Talks Thursdays
“Sustainability on Campus: What, Why and How – and Who?”
Jim Boulter, associate professor of chemistry, will discuss sustainability and what people across campus are doing to reduce our “climate footprint” here at UW-Eau Claire. This talk will be on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Commons of Towers North
Furture
Trash Talks include:
Jan. 12 "Why I run an organic farm" Julie Maro, alumane and local farmer
Feb. 9 "Havesting electrical energy - a new braking system" Kim Pierson, professor of physics
March 8 "Eating Local" Paul Kalijdan, professor of geography
April 12 "Bottled vs Tap Water" Matt Myers, lecturer of philosophy
Sustainability ideas from Bridgman RA
Laurelyn Wieseman, a resident assistant in Bridgman Hall, has made sustainability a priority on her floor. When her residents arrived this fall, they were greeted with door decorations created from recycled materials. She also had created a "10 things you can do to save the planet"poster.
Continuing the sustainability theme, Wiseman posted a "I have and I need" board where students could post what they had to give away (such as extra notebooks) and what they might need (like rubber bands).
"It's a way for us to share what we have and develop community while also not wasting things," said Wieseman.
Wieseman also made a box for the bathroom where student can put things like magazines, coupons, extra coffee mugs or other small items. Other students can take the items for free. In addition, she created a bathroom "Sustainability Stall" where Wieseman posts information on ways to recycle at UW-Eau Claire and other articles and posters about "green" events on campus.
The creative RA also posts event posters using a string and clothes pins calendar. She then reuses the back of the posters when she needs to make signs.
If you have ideas about living green at UW-Eau Claire, please share them by contacting the housing office of sustainability at 715-836-2505 or by e-mail at Housing SustainCoordinator@uwec.edu.
Repurposing old tiles results in "new" laundry folding tables
John Bresina, housing and residence life's upholsterer, came up with a great idea for repurposing leftover tiles and wood to create "new" folding tables for the laundry rooms in the residence halls. (See before and after photos below.)
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Before,left, and after, right
"The old table were chipped and old," said Bresina. "The new ones are more durable, look a lot nicer and didn't cost a lot."
More importantly, the new tables demonstrate how Housing staff is committed to improving facilities for students in a sustainable way.
Blue + Gold Super hero video show Blugolds how to recycle
Check out "Blue + Gold = Green", a video created by UW-Eau Claire student Mandy Miller that shows fellow Blugolds how to properly recycle items in the residence halls. It's sure to be a winner an Oscar at the Academy Awards for university films. The video also features superb acting by UW-Eau Claire students, Carrissa Brooks and Megan Seubert, and two Eau Claire Children Theater actors, Grace Lenhart and Adam Accola.
Check out the green actions taken by Housing and Residence Life in 2010-2011
Housing and Residence Life has continued to advance its commitment to the university's values of stewardship and sustainability through a variety of programs, facilitiy improvements and staffing. Below are noteworthy sustainability actions the department has taken between July 2010 and June 2011 and the results that are measurable.
Recycling events:
Cardboard Corral program (Move In)
- Recycled 7.62 tons of cardboard
Give and Take recycling program (Move Out)
- Recycled nearly 2 tons of carpeting
- Recycled .67 tons of cardboard
- Recycled 2-1/2 tons of broken appliances, T.V.s, microwaves, computers, futon frames, refrigerators and other assorted electronic items
- Due to recycling we significantly reduced the amount trash going to the landfill. Only five instead of seven trash rolloffs will be needed
- Donated 253 pounds of clothing to Goodwill
- Donated 583 pounds of food to Feed My People food pantry through a program coordinated with RHA
Sustainability “Just Bag It” Fashion Show (Earth Day celebration)
- Students from nine of the 11 residence halls participated in a Sustainability Fashion Show to celebrate Earth Day and to promote recycling and repurposing materials. More than 150 people attended the event and 400 reusable cloth shopping bags containing information on recycling were distributed to the students and staff attending the event and to the participating hall residents.
Sustainability improvements in the Residence Halls
- Installed energy efficient windows in Oak Ridge Hall
- Installed a more energy efficient HVAC system in Oak Ridge Hall
- Continued to purcahse and use green seal certified cleaner/sanitizer to clean all the halls
- Installed 61 motion sensors in Towers North and Towers South Halls
- Water bottle filling stations were installed on the first floor of all the halls and on every floor of Bridgman (grand prize winners of the “Just Bag It” fashion show)
- Installed carpet tile which is fully recyclable and some of which are made with recycled materials in all the hallways in Bridgman Hall, three hallways in Katherine Thomas Hall, fourth floor in Murray Hall, Oak Ridge Hall basement and 20 rooms in Chancellor's Hall. This is the third year of a five-year program to replace all the carpeting in the residence halls.
- Installed energy efficient washers and dryers: four in Katherine Thomas Hall and five in Putman Hall, 14 in Towers North and South Halls, four in Horan and 13 in Governor's Hall
- Installed low-flow shower heads in all the residence halls
- Recycled 1,050 mattresses
- Recycled 86 fire extinguishers
- 140 beds, 109 desks and 17 dressers were repurposed bt nonprofit organizations instead of being sent to the landfill
- Insulated the roofs in Davies and Kjer houses
Staffing
- To make the sustainability efforts more consistent, Housing and Residence Life hired a 20-hour LTE staff person to coordinate the sustainability efforts of the department.
Other Sustainability Websites
UW-Eau Claire Student Senate's Environment Endeavor Commission:
http://www.uwec.edu/StudentSenate/commissions/eec/
Clean Commute Initiative: Online brochure 
RecycleMania:
http://www.recyclemania.org/
Local, regional, and State sites
Wisconsin DNR:
http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/recycle/
Eau Claire County Recycling:
http://www.co.eau-claire.wi.us/health_and_environment/Recycle/recycle.htm
UW-Eau Claire:
Sustainability: http://www.uwec.edu/sustainability
Sustainability Blog: http://sustainuwec.blogspot.com/
Questions or Comments?
