wku green zine- october 2013
DESCRIPTION
WKU Sustainability News WKU Recycling News WKU Surplus News WKU GreenToppers WKU AIDTRANSCRIPT
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Green Zine
A WKU Recycling & Surplus department publication
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Community RecyclingLearn more about your options to recycle
from home or your local business.
63,904pounds of metal recycled Learn what else was recycled in September
WKU
A Green Star is Born ! Get to know this issues latest and Greenest community member, Madaonna May.
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In This Green Zine// Editorial
Check-In From the Editors
Every week, we feature a location on campus or in the community
that we encourage our readers to go see.
If you "check-in" to that loca-tion that you visit on Face-
book by changing your status to the following:
"Hey look @WKU-Recycling, I visited this
month's Green Spot!"
you will be entered into our drawing for a fabulously
sustaiable prize. The winners will be announced in the next
Zine. Be sure to LIKE WKU Recycling's Facebook page so you can tag us in your status!
Be entered TWICE for includ-ing a photo of you at the
Green spot!
Suggest the next issue's Green Spot by emailing WKUGreen-
WKU Community Recycling Bins
This edition's green spot is the community recycling bins located behind the Service and Supply Building (across from the baseball fields). These bins are used by the Bowling Green community to recycle different commodities including cardboard, paper, plastic bottles, cans, tin, and paper. These bins have been especially useful to local businesses as it provides a free recycling outlet to them. The bins are open 24 hours a day. Remember that most of the commodities are single stream which means they'll all go into ONE BIN!
WKU Agriculture Expo Center • 8:30-6pm
A national celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced foods.
Tracks are EAT, GROW, and FARM and you can learn all kinds of great stuff
(how to keep backyard chickens & bees!). Free except for local food lunch ($15).
To register, go to: bowlinggreenfoodday2013.splashthat.com
Join us for Southern Kentucky’s celebration!
while your checking outa new green spot
Community Recycling Bins, WKU
The WKU Green Zine is dedicated to all things green on campus and in the
community. WKU is home to movements and organizations that are doing great
things in sustainability and for the environment. Our goal is to feature these accomplishments in one place by bring-ing together students, faculty, staff and community members who are passion-
ate about our philosophy, to think green.
The Green Zine has been a been a project I've been excited about for a while now, watching it beome a reality has been a surreal experience! Work-ing with so many amazing groups and people that are dedicated to bettering our campus and community has made me eager to leave my mark at WKU. I'm hoping that The Green Zine will continue to unite and inspire after I graduate. I can't wait to see what the next issues bring and to read your comments and feedback.
I am so excited to publish our first edition of the Green Zine. Since 2006, I have been involved in green initatives at WKU as a student. Now, years later as staff, many of those initatives have spread into a range of issues from recycling to or-ganic farming -from energy use to LEED buildings. Having one place to go to and stay updated on all the great sustainable projects going on seemed like the perfect idea. I also wanted to share the news and progress going on in my department,
Recycling and Surplus. Here, you can see our latest recycling data and find out about some unique items coming through our doors. I truly hope you enjoy!
Krystin AvakianGreen Zine Co-Editor
Sara Hutchison, Green Zine Co-Editor
www.facebook.com/WKUrecycling
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Leading the WKU
What “green” project do you work on and why is it significant?I currently work on the sustainable program called Big Red Bikes, here at WKU. Since its inception, this program has been a great sustainable, fun, and healthy option for students, faculty, and staff. The Big Red Bikes program recieves abandoned bicycles that are left on campus each semester and collected by WKU Parking and Transportation. Once the bicycles are collected, we take the bicycles apart, repaint them WKU red, and replace any broken parts. Then, a refurbished bicy-cle becomes a Big Red Bike, and will be of service to anyone on campus who needs transportation. Big Red Bikes is so much more than a bike. It’s a very important program to me because, I can see how these bikes are used not only for fun and exercise, but as a huge part of these students lives. I have multiple students that ride their bi-cycles to elementary schools to student teach at that are at least 8 miles away. This bicycle means everything to them. I have multiple students that use these bicycles to ride to their work after their classes. When you pass a student on a Big Red Bike miles away from campus, you know how significant your work really is!
Green Star
Velorution
Learn why Madonna May is a Green Star
Madonna May, Big Red Bikes
What inspired you to work on this project? This program was originally started by students back in 2007. As as student myself, I was looking to work on a program that was full of life, and that had great potential to grow. With seeing those possibilities, I was granted the position of Big Red Bikes Coordinator in the summer of 2012. The inspiration of making Big Red Bikes a possibility to more students is the goal I have been achieving for. When you can see Big Red Bikes all over cam-pus, then you know you are helping provide a “green” way of transporta-tion. It makes your heart smile along with the environment.
Where do you want this project to be at in 5 years from now?Five years from now, I would love to see the program at 250 bikes. That is a very real number to accomplish. Our demand for bicycles is constantly growing. The more often that we get the word out, the more bicycles that are seen on campus, and the more we educate people on clean-green trans-portation, then the more our numbers will increase. Green programs such as Big Red Bikes have an unlimited ceiling as far as growth.
What’s been an interesting memory or experience you have from working on this project?One of the best memories working at Big Red Bikes actually happened this past spring semester. I was picking my son up at Potter Gray, and one of the student teachers was riding his bicycle from the elementary school. I stopped and talked to the gentleman riding. He said, “I couldn’t of done this without your bike.” What a great experience, knowing that Big Red Bikes is making a difference in student’s lives.
What is an interesting fact about you that most people don’t know?Most people don’t know I am a Alan Rickman fan. If you don’t know who that is, he plays Severus Snape in Harry Potter. I also don’t like thunderstorms.
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Want to
PowerShift
Student Involvement
This fall, 10,000+ youth leaders will converge in Pittsburgh, PA to fight for our future. Together we’ll build the movement to fight fracking, divest from fossil fuels, build a clean energy future, and stop the climate crisis. Power Shift 2013 will take place October 18 - 21 in Pittsburgh, PA. If you are interested in going to Powershift, email [email protected]. We will help you figure out registration, travel, housing and potential funding. We encourage you all to come, it’ll be an amazing time!
Junk The Junk Mail
Interested in reducing the amount of junk
mail on our campus? Email [email protected] to learn
how to get involved in this new recycling campaign.
Get Involved?GreenToppers Students for
Campus Sustainability [main campus]
Glasgow [email protected]
Americans for an Informed Demoncracy (AID)
US Green Building Council [Students]
Geology [email protected]
Invisible Childrenhttp://www.facebook.com/
groups/6766240933/
Green River [email protected]
Become a WKU
Eco-Superhero!
Think green, get in the scene!
We are always looking for fresh
stories for the Green Zine. If you,
or someone you know, are working
on a green project contact us at
WTF Answer: Kodak Contour Projector
Ready to start a
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The Big Red Computer Lab
Recycling & Surplus News
WTF?!What's This For?!
Good question! Every edition, we will be highlighting some of the weirdest things that have come through surplus. Can you figure
out what it is for? Good luck!
Answer at the bottom of page 4.
Recycling Data, September 2013
Amount of Solid WasteSingle StreamGlassCardboardE-ScrapPalletsScrap Metal
On September 26, Sara Hutchison, Recycling & Surplus Coordinator and Big Red went to Morgantown Elementary for a ribbon cutting of the Big Red Computer Lab. The computer lab is made up of 30 complete computers and peripherals as well as furniture donated by WKU Surplus to Butler County Schools. The assistant principal, Chad Flener, said that these computers were so important because being a Title 1 school they have limited funding and over 70% of students are on free or reduced
lunch. Since all schools are mandated to test frequently, adding a whole new computer lab to the school will make testing go much easier for the students and staff. Once the school got the computers, they put their own Windows Operating System image on them, increased the RAM, and had their IT department set them up. We were able to donate these computers because they are no longer under warranty with WKU and IT prefers not to service computers that are not cost effective to repair.
385,315 lbs21,200 lbs
4,180 lbs9,280 lbs
n/a*n/a*
63,904 lbs
* denotes a commdoity that is not recycled every month.These numbers reflect main campus.
Sara Hutchison and Big Red at the grand opening of the Big Red
computer Lab at Morgantown Elementary School.