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Resource conservation on campus: it just makes sense
by Sarah Johnson
Resource conservation started its climb at Vanderbilt on the backs of some hardworking student volunteers.And those campuswide conservation efforts are continuing and growing because 1) students think it “just makes sense” and 2) administration officials know it saves money.
Ayesha Kadir, co-founder of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Sierra Club, says resource conservation should be important to Vanderbilt students.
“Students are consumers just as much as anyone else at Vanderbilt,” Kadir said. “After all, we live on campus. So, it just makes sense. Students tend to be the ones who really get things going.”
After a student-led recycling program in the Vanderbilt area came to an end in early 1990, the Chancellor asked former Vice Chancellor for Administration Bill Jenkins to address the recycling issue with students. As a result, the Resource Conservation Advisory Committee was formed.
The committee decided to begin a pilot recycling program on campus, starting with white office paper because of the good market for the resource. Brenda Gilmore, Director of the Station B post office in Rand Hall, was chosen to coordinate the program.
“I was tapped to develop the program because of my interest in recycling and my involvement with the students,” Gilmore said.
As the program began, each department had a contact person who ensured each employee received recycling information and checked recycling bins. Departmental involvement and awareness grew and the program response was very positive.
“People were so enthusiastic, the program continued after six months,” Gilmore said.
Such successful resource conservation efforts led to other campus resource conservation and recycling efforts. Kadir cites the commonsense practicality of resource conservation as the reason for its importance.
“Vanderbilt is an incredibly large institution, and accordingly, it uses quite a large amount of resources,” she said. “As we have many opportunities today to conserve and reuse our resources, it’s both economically and environmentally useful to conserve what we have.²
Other departments on campus are involved with resource conservation efforts. Many cite pragmatism as the reason for their efforts.
“The main resource we try to conserve is money,” Campus Planning and Construction Associate Director Edward Belbusti said.
The Campus Planning and Construction Office integrates resource conservation techniques into the many construction and renovation projects on campus. After a building’s demolition, the steel, aluminum, copper and other building materials are sorted out and made into new building materials.
The office also restricts the use of environmentally threatened wood species in campus construction and protects tree roots around construction sites with crushed stone or filter fabric construction drives. Such valiant efforts may seem difficult to carry out, but the program is effective for practical as well as environmental reasons.
“Enforcement is really financial,² Belbusti said. Contractors like the conservation efforts because instead of paying dump fees they can earn money from recycling materials, he said.
“It (the program) was a natural evolution as the economics fell in line to make it worth recycling,” Belbusti said. “There is always extra stuff left over.”
Mark Petty, director of general services, also oversees conservation efforts. One of Petty’s responsibilities is the compost pile on the southwest side of campus near Blakemore Avenue.
“The pile was started about 10 years ago to provide us a place to put leaves, turf, woodchips and other materials,” Petty said. “It also provides a source of compost, fill dirt and other organic material used in landscaping.”
The pile, about the size of a football field, also serves as a holding area for construction dirt, such as sand from the football stadium.
Petty pointed out that on such a maintained and manicured campus it was difficult to find space to save materials. “We have to pay to haul off leaves, so the pile saves that money,” he said.
The pile takes resource conservation into the community as well.
“We give it (the compost) away to nonprofit organizations and members of the Vanderbilt community,” Petty said.
One of the most successful programs of the Resource Conservation Advisory Committee is the Student Move-Out program. As students move out of residence halls at the end of the academic year, they are able to donate unwanted items. Easily accessible donation sites aid the participation in the program.
“Eight to 10 Ryder trucks are placed in centralized locations in heavy student traffic areas,” Gilmore said. “The trucks are there from the last day of classes to the day before graduation.”
Students responded to the program with overwhelming participation. This year, Goodwill Industries received eight truckloads full of items students donated during the move-out process. Students also took interest in other areas of campus recycling.
The Resource Conservation Advisory Committee thrives on community involvement. A variety of sources were used to promote the group’s efforts, Gilmore said.
“RCAC serves as a springboard to get all of the community involved. We use resident advisors, InnerVU, WRVU, the Hustler, the Register and word of mouth.” In order for the program to continue, student involvement must continue. Incoming students are just as important as current students for the program’s success, Gilmore said.
“The key to it is cooperation and awareness,” Gilmore said. “We want to educate freshmen on the importance of resource conservation so it becomes a natural way of living for them.”
Gilmore hopes that the resource conservation efforts extend into other parts of the University community.
“We are trying to get the Med Center involved to create camaraderie.”
Kadir has several suggestions for the continuation of resource conservation on campus.
“I would like to see a unified and efficient campuswide recycling program for glass, plastic, aluminum and paper. That is the main goal right now for the organizations involved in the conservation effort.”
Kadir added that she would like to see Rand and Sarratt using recyclable disposable materials as well as their own dishes and silverware. “This would cut down a great deal on waste production,” Kadir said. Kadir believes Vanderbilt students are not involved enough in environmental conservation efforts. “I have been working with environmental organizations at Vanderbilt for the three years that I have been here and I am shocked and disappointed at the level of apathy,” she said. “They have other priorities at this time. Hopefully, this will change now that Sierra Club is getting a foothold and is working closely with both Interhall and SGA. I think a united effort will be much more fruitful.”
Sarah Johnson works in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Photo by Billy Kingsley
