Campus Initiatives

SUNY Potsdam is committed to creating a sustainable future by taking steps to reduce negative environmental impacts.

Recycling

Zero Sort Recycling is becoming a standard across campus. Research is currently being done on effective recycling techniques and how to make recycling productive.

Going Trayless in Lehman Dining Hall

The first week of March in 2009 was “Trayless Awareness Week,” which provided advertising and education about the project at tables in the Union and flyers around campus and in the napkin dispensers at every PACES location. Lehman Dining Center went Trayless on Tuesday of that week. There was an overwhelming amount of positive feedback about the event, with only a few negative comments pertaining to convenience. Overall, the project was a success, saving 2 ounces of food per person and 200 gallons of water for the week.  


The project was started by Ashley Balbian, through SGA, who went to George Arnold of PACES and got the event running. Claire Sheehan, the manager of Lehman Dining Center, and Abby Lee, Marketing Coordinator of PACES, also played a big role. Due to the success of this event, PACES is going Trayless in the Fall of 2009.

PACES

PACES has taken the lead in the effort to be more sustainable. Here are just a few examples.

PACES purchases over $100,000 annually in local produce goods and services.

PACES used fryer oil is donated to be converted into bio diesel. 

Composting: food scraps from Potsdam dining facilities are collected and composted. (They do much more this site shows it all http://www.potsdam.edu/offices/paces/green.cfm)

Residence Halls

Here’s what’s going on in the dorms starting the fall semester of 2009:


SUNY Potsdam will install CFL light bulbs in all of its college owned lamps, and place a strong recommendation to all residential student that they use only CLF light bulbs in all non-college owned lamps. Halogen light bulbs will remain prohibited in the Residence Halls. 

Resident life has included Sustainability programming into its Programming Model. Each Resident Assistant will be required to do one sustainability program per academic year.

There will be a “Refuse Station” in each residence hall that will include Trash, Zero-Sort recycling, plastic bags, Technology recycling, battery recycling, and Ink recycling. It will also have a “Swap Box,” for items that student’s may no longer need, but others may find useful.

The cleaning and janitorial staff will use more environmentally friendly cleaning products.

In response to an outpour of support for campus wide sustainability efforts Residence Life will be providing a Sustainability theme based floor. This floor will live by a series of environmentally friendly lifestyle agreements and look at its impacts on the environment to try and minimize their impact. The students will assess and assist in educating the rest of the campus as to the challenges and successes of living greener on campus.