I attended the 'Sustainability on Campus' panel presentation, part of the campus week-long events for the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day.
I learned that 88.6% of SJSU's waste stream is currently being recycled or diverted from landfills (by being reused).
A few examples are:
Unwanted furniture is reused, sold on a public service website, or recycled as mixed debris.
Tree and yard waste is composted at a plant in Gilroy.
Food waste is screened for contaminants and composted in Gilroy.
San Jose Conservation Corps handles recycling for glass and bottles on campus.
Demolition and concrete waste is sent to Zanker Road Landfill and Greenwaste Recovery in San Jose, where huge machines crush the material that can be sold for road base and other uses.
Old tires are converted into asphalt and playground rubber.
'Universal waste' is not included in SJSU's 88.6% figure, because it is already banned from entering landfills....eWaste (computers), batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, automobile oil, oil filters, used antifreeze, and old unusable paint.
Some future projects for SJSU include starting construction on LEED certified buildings for the Student Union and Student Health Center, as well as adding rooftop solar photovoltaic panels on 5 campus buildings to generate 1 million kilawatts per year. The rooftops up for consideration for solar panels are: Sweeney Hall, Business Classrooms, Art Building, Clark Hall, and the Industrial Studies Building.
(LEED stands for 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design', an internationally recognized green building certification ratings program.)
The panel presentation was extremely informative and a great kick-off to this week's events.
There is a composting event today (Wednesday) called 'Turn Over an Old Leaf - Compost!' in the Costonoan Room on the 2nd floor of the Student Union featuring Michele Young, the Environmental Services Director from the City of San Jose from 2:30pm-5:00pm.
Green tip of the week: Consider visiting tomorrow's Earth Day Faire in the 7th Street plaza on campus and learn more about the various green services that are available in our community.
Do you have an unwanted heating pad, birdseed, or laundry detergent that you might want to donate to the Wildlife Center of Silicon Valley?
Are you interested in taking a class from the Master Gardeners of Santa Clara?
Do you want to ask the California Native Plant Society about the different kinds of drought-resistant native plants to plant in your garden?
What kind of rare fruit does the California Rare Fruit Grower's Association grow?
10:00am - 2:00pm
40th Annual Earth Day Faire
Featuring 40 exhibitors of sustainable businesses, organizations, non-profits, and government agencies who all want to show off their amazing achievements.
7th Street Plaza, near Clark Hall (formerly known as Clark Library) and the Central Classrooms Building
Brought to you by the E.R.C. (Environmental Resource Center)
Here are some other Earth Day events for Thursday:
11:45am - 1:00pm
King Library: Sustainable Building, Sustainable Operations: On the way to LEED certification
King Library, MLK Room 213
Brought to you by the staff at FD&O
Our Library Staff have been assisting and contributing a significant amount of information and statistics that help us gain points for the LEED Certification ratings process.
3:15pm - 4:00pm
Getting to Work--How San Jose's Green Vision is Transforming the City: Keynote Speaker featuring City of San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed
(Engineering Building) ENG Room 189
Brought to you by the Office of the President: Sustainability Initiative, & E.R.C. (Environmental Resource Center)
Here's the link to the week's campus events for Earth Day:
http://sites.google.com/a/sjsusustainabilityweek.org/www/program
Here's the link to the website that shows some of the exhibitors participating in the Earth Day Faire.
http://sites.google.com/a/sjsusustainabilityweek.org/www/home
This is a Huffington Post Earth Day article that talks about some of the legislation that was passed in the 1970's: Clean Air Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20100421/cm_huffpost/536130
Have a great Earth Day!
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