The University has taken steps toward becoming one of the nation’s leading green colleges, and one organization is noticing.
This year, Princeton Review named the University in its “Guide to 286 Green Colleges” — a comprehensive list of environmentally responsible universities in the country.
The guide highlights the University’s sustainability activities and efforts.
The University ranked 154th out of 346 schools participating in the national Recyclemania Per Capita Classic competition in 2010 by collecting 10.9 cumulative recyclable pounds per person.
The University came in second in the Southeastern Conference.
“We started entering this competition two years ago as a way to see how we stood up against other colleges,” said Andres Harris, manager of solid waste and recycling in Facility Services. “When I saw the results, I was pretty happy.”
The University went from recycling 316.2 tons in 2005 to 1,311.8 tons in 2009, according to statistics from the LSU Recycles website.
“We are improving big time,” Harris said.
Starting in 2009, the University increased its recycling efforts by collecting recyclable materials within Tiger Stadium during football season.
During last year’s football season, 438.4 tons of trash were collected, and 12.4 percent of that was recycled.
Harris said this coming season will be the first time the University will recycle at the suite level, too.
“I usually publish how much we recycled for each game during the following week,” Harris said. “We are excited to see how the numbers this year will come up.”
The University currently recycles at a rate of 45 percent, Harris said, and the Committee for Campus Sustainability is always looking for new ways to improve that number.
The University has been using used cooking oil from campus dining halls for biodiesel research during the past four years, but the biodiesel is now being used to operate University fleet vehicles, said Denise Scribner-Newell, campus sustainability manager.
Another green initiative is to find more sustainable ways to host campus events.
“With every event we have on campus, we are always trying to green it up,” Scribner-Newell said.
For this year’s Fall Fest, recycling and composting bins will be placed throughout the event, in addition to separate containers for chip bags.
“Our goal is to have zero waste,” Harris said.
Scribner-Newell said the University is in the process of planting a permanent Christmas tree this year.
“By planting our own tree, we won’t need to have one hauled all the way from Washington state,” she said.
The tree will be planted in front of the Music and Dramatic Arts building, Scribner-Newell said.
Students interested in monitoring the University’s recycling and sustainability efforts can visit LSU Recycles on Facebook or sustainability.lsu.edu.
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Contact Sarah Eddington at [email protected]