GREEN NEWS

Sac State Celebrates Earth Day

Sac State celebrated Earth Day with a series of events in mid-April, beginning with Sac State Earth Day on Thursday the 17th, and ending with the second annual Mulching Mania event on Friday the 18th.

Activities focused on student outreach to communicate the breadth of sustainable efforts practiced on campus and share tips on ways to help individuals live more sustainable lives.

Facilities Management staff, vendors, and student volunteers helped promote and celebrate the annual event, engaging students in volunteer and list-serve signups, vendor booths and games.

Vendors included SMUD, PG&E, Nicolas’ Garden, Java City, wormfancy.com, GRAS, World Centric, and T3 Printing Solutions, as well as student volunteer fraternities and organizations.

ABA was well represented, with booths for Facilities Management, University Transportation & Parking Services, and Environmental Health & Safety.

On Friday, Facilities Management, in partnership with the Sacramento Tree Foundation, held its second annual Mulching Mania event. Student volunteers, including Circle K International and fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon, helped spread tree mulch around trees and planter beds near Eureka and Capistrano halls.

This mulch helps stabilize the amount of moisture the trees receive. This is especially important, with California facing a record-setting drought; the mulch helps retain moisture to prevent water run-off.

The event was a big success as “the volunteers were really active and we got everything done sooner than expected! Everyone was working at a good pace,” said Sustainability & Operations Analyst Kristina Cullen. “The Sacramento Tree Foundation helped by providing information and education to our volunteers as well.”

Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's festivities a huge success! Earth Day may come around just once a year, but anyone can follow sustainable practices year round!

80% Plus Waste Diversion Rate Exceeds Goals

Each year, CalRecycle releases their State Agency Reporting Center (SARC) report, which includes a statistic called a "diversion rate" for each state agency and large state institutions. The diversion rate reflects the amount of waste that was sent to landfill, contrasted by the amount expected by CalRecycle based on an institution's population. In addition, reduction in the consumption of certain materials positively affects the diversion rate.

The recently released 2013 report stated that Sacramento State's diversion rate was 83.2 percent. This rate exceeds the state goal of a 75 percent diversion rate by the year 2020. This is good news for Sac State, whose sustainability programs are highly regarded and continue to grow and improve.

Recycling Coordinator Joey Martinez describes how Sac State scores this diversion rate: "As a campus, we divert the following from landfills by recycling: car batteries, electronic waste, toner cartridges and ink, cell phones, latex paints, scrap metal, precious metals, Styrofoam, bottles and cans, cardboard, inert materials (asphalt, concrete, etc.), mixed paper, plastics, batteries, light bulbs and other hazardous materials."

The Sustainable Technology Outdoor Research Center (STORC) has also helped contribute to our high marks. "We pick up and deliver to the STORC campus’ grass clippings, coffee grounds and used cooking oil from campus eateries, and pre and post-consumer food waste from the Children’s Center and The Buzz," added Martinez.

Martinez notes that one of the biggest factors contributing to Sac State's high diversion rate is education. Outreach efforts to inform faculty, staff and students are paying off. In addition, attitudes towards sustainability are changing, and people are embracing efforts to reduce their impact. "People have become more and more savvy about reduction and recycling ... more and more people are buying reusable items," added Joey.

How can you find ways to contribute? "Keep seeking opportunities to reduce and reuse. 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' isn't just a motto - it's actually the blueprint for living a more sustainable life. If you can figure out how to reduce by using reusable items, that makes a big difference. Then, of course, keep recycling," said Martinez.