5/4/2010 SA Sustainability Meeting Minutes

Topic

Discussion

Follow up

Introductions

Introductions were made

Purchasing

Rich

What we can do to be more green when making purchases?

Paper products

·         Switch to recycled paper.

·         Can choose 30%, 50% or 100% recycled.

·         100% recycled is more expensive than virgin paper.

·         Suggest 30-50% recycled.

·         Pricing is cheaper at 30-50%

·         There is no mandate at PSU to buy recycled.

·         There is no mandate to use general stores.

·         Jamming issues are bogus. Using recycled paper doesn't jam any more or less than virgin paper.

·         Quality and shine is the same at 30-50% as it is in virgin paper. The paper may look dull at 100%.

·         Need to change the way people think.

·         People may go to Staples to buy non-recycled paper. The University has spent about 1 million dollars buying paper from Staples.

Philip

·         Within SA we could choose   to only buy recycled paper. 

·         Consider a recommendation to the Vice President to use only recycled paper.

Printers

·         IKON Contract

·         All new printers will be set to double side copying. 

·         Current printers will be re-set to double side copying when maintenance is conducted.

Toner cartridge recycling 

·         Recycled cartridge vs. an original cartridge.

·         PrinterMech and LaserForce in State College offer recycled cartridges.  They also fix anything they sell and will recycle the used cartridges. 

·         Recycled cartridges do not print differently than original ones.

·         General Stores carries recycled cartridges.

·         In Ebuy/General Stores on line -  click on advanced search and click down for keyword. Box pops up that says recycled goods. This wiill narrow the list.

Other initiatives

·         Al and Rich are part of a team reviewing carpeting manufacturing.

·         PSU has19 million square feet of carpet.

·         Developing a standard for everyone to follow when purchasing carpet.

·         There will be a list of approved vendors.

·         One vendor in Atlanta Ga., constructed a 10 mile underground tubing system that off loads the methane gas from the local landfill to their plant.  The entire facility is heated by the methane gas from the landfill.

·         Standards should be established by Dec. 1, 2010.

Philip

·         Alert the directors that there will be changes in policy.

·         Purchasing can steer you toward green companies if you need to replace carpeting before Dec. 1.

Water filling stations

·         Investigating several companies.

·         One company has a system similar to a sippy cup.  There is no backwash.

·         Lock the bottle in and the water fills from the bottom . Down side is you have to buy their bottle. 

·         EH&S is studying contamination. They may come up with recommendations for sanitary filling.

·         Drive is to get water bottles off of campus and to find a healthy way to refill bottles.

·          Looking at vendors that use a system where you need to push the water bottle down for the water to fill.

Furniture

FSC Forest Stewardship Council -  Use FSC Wood

SFI - Sustainable Forest Initiative. - Not as good as FSC.

·         SFC puts a lot of effort into the manufacturing processes.

·         Hard to find conference room furniture in wood.

·         Focus is on office furniture.

Philip

·         Need to provide current SA directors with information on how green they are.

·         Develop ways to put best practices into a planning document. 

Envelopes

·         All envelopes are made of virgin paper.

·         Currently testing recycled envelopes that have 30-50% content.

·         Identified the 10 top users of envelopes on campus. Testing envelopes through their mailing machines.

·         Recycled envelopes are cheaper.

·         Hope to have recycled envelopes identified before the start of the fall semester.

·         Purchasing will be fully electronic by year's end.

Philip

·         Recommended auditing SA as a pilot for purchasing behavior.

Philip to send list of the administrative units within student affairs with budget numbers to Rich to obtain purchasing information.

Recycling /

Energy Savings

Al

Furniture

·         Free furniture pieces from all over the university are housed at the old Corning Building on Rt.26

·         All furniture is free.

·         There is a delivery charge.

·         Phyllis Hooven,  peb1@psu.edu can schedule a time to go to look at the furniture.

·         Chairs, desks, tables, storage cabinets, shelving and more are located there.

Other areas for recycling/savings

·         Consider adding motion sensors when renovating or building.

·         Switch to compact florescent bulbs.

·         Recycle batteries

·         Save toner - type of font makes a difference in how the toner is used.  Century Gothic uses 30% less toner than other fonts.

·         Composting - everything, meat, pizza, pizza boxes, any box from meals, dairy, bones, etc.

No Can Do Program

·         Have no garbage cans offices.

·         ARL has done this since moving into their new facility.

·         No cost of the garbage bag.

·         Save on labor.

Recycling

·         57% is recycled at PSU

·          ARL is at 80% as a building.

·         Everything you generate in your office area  with the exception of #2, 5, and 6 plastics can be recycled/composted.

·          No smell in garbage cans because it is only has #2,5,& 6 plastic so it can be emptied weekly instead of daily.

·         Carbon footprint is reduced.

Spot audits

·         Measures every pound.

·         Being done at UHS this week.

·         Tells you where you are compared to the overall university.

·         It will tell you where there are opportunities for improvement.