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Sustainability Office
Kagin Commons
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-696-8138
Comments & questions to:
sustainability@macalester.edu
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11/4/2009 -
Congratulations to the Heating Plant Staff of Facilities Services for Earning a Green Star Award for Saving Energy in Kagin Commons.
The staff informed Mechanical Systems Manager Curt Stainbrook that coffee urns were left on in Kagin Commons because it took too long for them to heat up prior to an event. Maintenance engineer Mike Fendrich investigated the actual time it took them to heat up and found it was one hour, instead of the three hours it was thought to take. Staff electrician Ed Gerten then took some amp readings and calculated the energy savings. Curt approached Bon Appetit management who agreed to turn off the units between events. This change is expected to result in a $2,500 annual cost savings!
9/11/2009 -
Congratulations to Peg Olson from Residential Life, Cindy Haarstad from the Campus Center, Laurie Salden from Facilities Services, David Sisk from Information Technology Services, and students Molly MacMorris-Adix '09, Claire Vincent '10, Laura Macke '10, Margaret Scott '10, Zach Selke '10, Carol Brod '11, Chris Portero-Paff '11, Whitney Watson '12, Christina Nieves '12 and Matt Kazinka '11 for earning a “Green Star” award for dramatically reducing waste from spring 2009’s Move Out.
In response to the traditionally overwhelming amount of waste generated when students move out of the dorms, a new collaborative program of the Zero Waste Committee and student volunteers was set up to capture useable material for a fall garage sale, offer electronics waste recycling, and promote recycling. The result of their work is dramatic. The recycling rate jumped from 17 percent in 2008 to an impressive 46 percent (including e-waste) in 2009. Student volunteers sorted and stored two rooms of additional discards for resale at the campus garage sale on Saturday, September 12.
8/11/2009 -
Congratulations to Tom Ibsen, ’93, for earning a green star award for his work on the Macalester prairie, raingardens, and green roofs. Tom has been maintaining these projects and working with ten interns on prairie research projects since 2004. He worked with students to develop the prairie plan, plant and maintain the project. In 2008, through his firm, Grassroots Restoration, he formally started maintaining the library raingarden and green roofs on Kagin and the link. For more information on these projects see the Initiatives page.
6/2/2009 -
Congratulations to Student Accounts staff members Elmira Marshall, Deborah Schmidt, Sherry Lueck, Trine Flinn, and Mary Johnson for earning a “Green Star” award for saving paper through eBilling.
The Student Accounts Office switched from paper bills to a new eBilling process last summer. Moving to eBills reduced paper needed for bills and envelopes and saved the cost of postage. The switch saves $11,220 annually. At the same time, they utilized the technology that was already available and increased their customer service.
4/7/2009 -
Congratulations to Natalie Locke’12, Abe Levine, ’12, Deb Novotny from Bon Appétit, and Mark Dickinson, Jerry Nelson, Laurie Salden and Jim Davidson from Facilities Services for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award for starting a food waste recycling program in Café Mac.
As of February 9, 2009, food waste from Café Mac is picked up by Barthold Farms, cooked in a special truck, and transformed into feed for free range pigs.
Students Natalie Locke and Abe Levine, as part of their sustainability student worker project this fall researched food waste recycling options for Macalester in collaboration with the Zero Waste Committee. The students proposed using Barthold Farms, which is used by Ramsey County schools because of their reliability in providing service in Minnesota and because of their commitment to raising free-range pigs and cows.
Making pig food out of Café Mac food waste, reduced waste hauling fees and keeps organic waste out of a landfill or incinerator. The program is expected to save money though reducing waste hauling fees. So far, the program has cut trash by 50%.
2/5/2009 -
Congratulations to Patty Pfalz, Biology, Jeanne Arntzen, Theater and Dance, and Kathy Scott, American Studies for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award for reducing disposable bottles at events.
Patty Pfalz started using beverage dispensers last summer for the weekly Olin-Rice barbecues and departmental events. She also asks attendees to bring their own cups to further reduce waste. Over the course of the summer and fall semester she saved the purchase of 24 cases of soda and about 5 cases of water.
Jeanne Arntzen and Kathy Scott also use water containers for their department events instead of purchasing bottles of water. This has eliminated the purchase of at least 14 cases of water in plastic bottles.
Using water dispensers instead of disposable water and soda cans and bottles reduces waste, reduces transportation greenhouse gas emissions, and may save money.
1/6/2009 -
Congratulations to Kim David and Paula Leonhart from College Relations for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award for changing Macalester College's letterhead, cards, and envelopes to 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper. Since September, their paper choice saved 102 trees, 8,934 lbs CO2 (the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent of driving two cars for nearly a year), 37,083 gallons of waste water, and 4,762 pounds of solid waste. In addition, the letterhead paper turned out to be cheaper than the original non-recycled paper. The cards and envelopes are slightly more expensive; overall the change will have a minute financial impact on the budget.
9/16/2008 -
Congratulations to student Hannah Rivenburgh '10, and Bon Appétit staff Deb Novotny, Lisa Percy and Amanda Rizzo for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award developing a reusable take out container program at Café Mac.
Hannah Rivenburgh researched reusable takeout containers as a project this summer as a sustainability procurement student worker. She presented the idea to Deb Novotny from Bon Appétit and the staff at Bon Appétit was able to implement the project in time for new student orientation.
Reusable takeout containers present a viable, cost-effective alternative to disposable take out containers at the Grille. It is preferable to recyclable plastic and compostable options because it reduces the amount of waste entering the waste stream, thus moving Macalester toward its goal of Zero Waste. Furthermore, it involves everyone who frequents the Grille, widening the sphere of waste reduction.
When ordering "To Go" food at the Grille, all students, staff, and faculty can pay a one-time $3 fee to be part of the program. They then receive their take out food in a reusable container. When they return it (still dirty), they get a card that they can use for another container the next time they order at the Grill. As long as participants return their containers, they only have to pay the fee once.
8/29/2008 -
Congratulations to Nancy Mackenzie, Admissions, Lynette Lamb, College Relations, Kim David, College Relations, and Danielle Nelson, Development, for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award for their work to increase post-consumer recycled paper in printing projects.
Using post-consumer recycled paper in printing saves energy, trees, water and greenhouse gas emissions. For example, using 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper in the Macalester Now is estimated to have saved 75 trees, 32,000 gallons of wastewater, 7,000 lbs of carbon dioxide emissions, and 53 million BTU's of energy.
8/29/2008 -
Congratulations to Carol Polk and Andi Wulff from the Alumni Office, Marcia Mittelsted Maguire '58, Mary Hartle Larson '58, Deb Novotny from Bon Appetit, Laurie Salden from Facilities Management, and Roopali Phadke from Environmental Studies for earning a "Green Star" sustainability award for their work to "green" the 2008 reunion.
It started with Marcia Maguire '58 who wanted to include sustainability in her 50th year reunion. Through a conversation with Prof. Roopali Phadke, a sustainability tour was developed; this original tour developed into the widely used Macalester Sustainability Tour Map. The Alumni Office started a conversation with the Sustainability Office to find ways to "green" reunion. As a result, they hosted a "Zero Waste" picnic that highlighted local food and all of dishware and food waste was composted (saving disposal of over 400 pounds of waste). They also reduced over 1000 single-use water bottles by creating the "watering hole" tent with water coolers and avoided mailing 9318 postcards by sending emails (saving over $1000 in mailing costs as well as reducing paper use). The event proved a test case for how to "green" large events at Macalester.
Numerous alumni mentioned their interest in the project. Members of the class of 1959 already decided to include the picnic and the tours next year and intend to find a way to include more sustainably discussions in the next reunion.
7/03/2008 -
Congratulations to Carolyn Loeb '08, along with Macalester staff and faculty members Karin Trail-Johnson, Christie Manning, John Mountain, Denise Ward, and Sylvester Gaskin for earning a “Green Star” sustainability award for their work to develop a system for Macalester graduates to donate their graduation gowns to the Minnesota Internship Charter High School.
In only 10 days, Carolyn spear-headed the effort to set up a graduation gown collection system. She contacted a low income school that she had interned with and offered gowns from Macalester. She then organized the effort to collect, size, box and donate 130 graduation gowns and 109 caps from Macalester graduates, approximately 1/3 of the gowns worn at graduation.
It started with an Associated Press article about the move to “one use” gowns by many colleges and universities throughout the country. The article shared the story of a Macalester grad who was selling his graduation gown on Ebay. At an environmental studies meeting, Carolyn Loeb and Prof. Christie Manning were compelled to do something about it. They met with staff in the Sustainability Office, the Civic Engagement Center, Career Center, Multicultural Life and set up a collection system for the gowns.
This program expected to save the school over $2000 and kept eight boxes of gowns and a “giant” bag of caps from staying in closets or ending up in a landfill. Amy Libman from Minnesota Internship Charter High School that this project was, “a great collaboration that links two institutions in a caring community.” She also said that the program is a “wonderful role model for our students about how to care for the environment.”
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