university spokesperson crystal nosal said the task force, which convened in september, received administrative support and is now working on a plan to implement the proposals. nosal said executive vice president and chief financial officer mark diaz organized the group, which consists of officials from six departments, including offices within the division of safety and facilities and the office of procurement.

the student association senate passed a resolution in late october calling on officials to discontinue using single-use plastic bottles on campus. nosal said the task force’s goals align with the sa’s resolution.

scott burnotes, the vice president of safety and facilities, said officials have approved the plan, and the division of safety and facilities will now work on finding ways to implement the recommendations. he said officials will start to implement the plan in the “next several months” and are excited about the “shared commitment” to a zero-waste environment.

“gw’s commitment to phasing out single-use plastics will be a marathon, not a sprint, especially given the hurdles higher ed is already dealing with this year,” he said in an email.

kat ruane – the co-president of take back the tap, a student organization that works to reduce gw’s use of single-use plastics – said the task force meets at least once every two weeks. she said the task force’s members hope to organize educational initiatives with student organizations to discuss the harmful environmental effects of single-use plastics.

“we’re thinking from the human rights perspective that all students deserve a right to accessible clean water, not one that’s put behind a paywall of a plastic water bottle,” ruane said.

ruane said the draft plan includes proposals to eliminate all plastic bottles from vending machines, install reusable water fillers in residence halls and develop strategies to discourage community members from using non-reusable plastics.

she said officials have not yet offered the task force clear details on the next steps for the plan submitted to diaz, the chief financial officer, at the end of october.

“it is a bit frustrating because there is to some degree lack of transparency and lack of communication about what they’re actually going to do next from here because they’ve submitted their draft plan to mark diaz,” she said.

experts in sustainability said implementing programs that discourage people from using plastics has been the most effective method in reducing non-reusable plastics.

lyda harris, a university of washington ph.d. candidate studying microplastic contamination, said she has seen “limited success” in educational initiatives encouraging people to reduce their plastic use because people typically weigh convenience over sustainability when making purchases. she said implementing measures that make reducing plastic use easier, like installing water bottle filler stations, are more effective methods.

“if you give someone all the knowledge that they need, i personally think that it comes down to which one’s easier and which one do i have time for,” she said.

harris said the best way to reduce plastic consumption is to implement a system, like a small charge on plastic bags, that makes plastic products inconvenient to obtain. d.c. officials implemented a mandatory plastic bag tax in 2010.

“in europe, there is a really cool study that has been done about plastic bag taxes and bans,” she said. “and it basically said once you assign a 5-cent tax on a plastic bag, people stop using them up to like 96 percent. and so it just makes it harder to pollute the environment.”

evan ward, a professor of marine sciences at the university of connecticut, said non-reusable plastics can be incinerated, which increases the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or buried, which can leak chemicals into groundwater over time.

“burying plastics is not that problematic, but over time, large amounts of plastic can leach a variety of chemicals, which can enter groundwater and contaminate drinking water, lakes, streams and near-shore environments,” he said in an email. “recycling is an option, but unfortunately only about 9 percent of all plastics are recycled.”

he said universities could take steps, like removing plastic water bottles carrying the institution’s logo, to draw people away from using single-use plastics.

“same goes for single-use plastic bags in the bookstore and elsewhere,” he said. “charge a small fee for selecting plastic bags over reusable bags – you will see how quickly everyone will remember to bring a reusable bag with them.”

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this piece was originally published by the gw hatchet. the photograph is attributed to alexander welling, senior staff photographer at the hatchet.

the panel featured: payton head, public speaker, campus inclusion consultant, and recent alum of university of missouri; dr. felecia nave, former provost and current director for faculty development & engagement and chemical engineering professor at prairie view a&m; and dr. nora savage, an environmental engineer and program director for the national science foundation.

here are some highlights from the panelists: 

dr. felecia nave

“if we’re going to get comprehensive solutions, we need comprehensive problem solvers.”

although most universities are majority female, the numbers reverse when you move into the stem fields, where women and minorities are still heavily under-represented. digging deeper, this typically starts in k-12, where women and minorities systematically lack encouragement to join these fields. whether it be due to the lack of representation of similar faces in peers, or the way instructions were provided, many of these minorities ultimately move onto other fields to pursue a degree in. 

nora savage

“i’m an engineer by training and a philosopher at heart.”

building comprehensive solutions does not just require diversity of people, but also diversity of represented fields. the national science foundation (nsf) is interested in broadening participation across all underrepresented groups, including the social sciences, at all levels. bringing different tools together can create ideas that were not possible through one perspective. vibrant communities are key to creating holistic and long lasting solutions.

payton head

“now we’re in a big movement now, and everyone seems to be yelling and fighting and everyone wants something to say, everyone has something to say. i think many times we forget to talk to each other.”

all of these systemic problems we experience are related to not recognizing people in their humanity. in college, head noticed a gap between the student body. he became a member of the asian american association, spent more time in the women’s center, lgbtq groups, and black culture center, and started to learn the other students’ stories. however, he didn’t feel quite at home in the black culture center because there were homophobic things being said, and he didn’t feel quite at home in the lgbtq community because of racist things being said. there was a disconnect between the minority groups themselves. combining the stories of different students from different minority groups through the framework of intersectionality helps to create a new conservation. 

however, leed certified buildings are just structures. what does the average george washington student’s interaction with sustainability look like?

many students interact with sustainability features daily without even knowing it. for example, a building can earn leed points by including certain green features. let’s consider the milken institute school of public health. this building is the only leed platinum certified building on gw’s campus and you may find many of its features interesting.

according to the milken institute’s self-guided tour, milken has some observable features that make it a green building. features like the fact that it is walking distance from the metro, has a bicycle rental rack right outside the building, and has a green roof. however, there are features that are not as clear to spot. for example, walking in the front door, you will not see an elevator as you would in a typical building. the elevators are intentionally hidden behind the reception desk to increase the probability of using the stairs. furthermore, there is an intentional 5 second delay when calling an elevator. this delay was inserted in order to push more people to use the stairs. another interesting fact is that most of the materials used in the building are from the building that existed prior to milken. that reduces solid wastes from being dumped in landfills. in addition, to encourage people to use public transportation, milken has no parking garage and the parking spaces outside the building are limited.

another feature of the building is the existence and placement of recycling bins right next to every trash can. this serves as a visual reminder for people to recycle their used goods. the building is also equipped with light sensors in every room. these turn on light whenever motion is detected and they also send a signal to security rooms with the room number whose light is on. this is useful to both make sure the lights are not on when there is no one in the room and for increased security in case there is a break in. finally, every floor is equipped with lasers that shoot beams into reflectors. the way these operate is the laser shoots a beam into the reflector in a way that creates a web of laser beams on each floor. these lasers detect smoke and record the time of detection to help locate the floor where the smoke is coming from. this significantly helps the fire fighters, in the case of fire, to quickly locate the source, which consequently saves lives and building materials.

overall, students should still remain interested and alert to the actions they can personally take to do their part in helping society become continuously more efficient. however, hopefully you realize that everyday you are interacting with features that help buildings to be more sustainable. so, even passively, you are participating in the effort to be more eco-friendly.

the institution is located in the tres brazos valley — a tropical frontier only an hour away from downtown panama city. sitting on 575 acres of rainforest, the growing town offers many different programs to promote an eco-friendly community.

kalu yala offers agriculture, biology, business and entrepreneurship, culinary arts, outdoor recreation, community development and public education, design thinking, public health and wellness, media lab and an optional spanish class to their students.

in the agriculture program, students learn about permaculture and organic farming. students trek their way through the rainforest to find plots of land to grow crop on. when farming, students learn about topsoil conditions and greenhouse management. students interested in biology can set up their own ecology projects on site. from conducting water sampling to gis mapping, biology students can experiment to their needs. students who are interested in community development learn ways to educate the public school systems and promote sustainable developmental approaches.

as of now, the town is solar powered and hydro powered. with two rivers running along side the valley, the town can gather water for hydration, as well as for fuel to power the town.

throughout the world, alumni from more than 160 universities have dedicated change within the institute. out of the universities, cu-boulder is one of them. mark gavit, a cu student, is currently working at kalu yala studying outdoor recreation.

living in open-air ranchos, gavit and several other students construct hiking trails with machetes and develop ways to live sustainably. students like gavit develop leadership skills and set the precedent of how future students will live at the camp.

the camp offers classes in the spring, summer and fall. the spring session runs from january 18 to april 8. the summer session runs from may 16 to july 29 and the fall session runs from september 12 to november 18. although some of the programs may be full, applications for the 2017 academic year are also available.

in today’s society, global warming and the overproduction of goods is a major conflict. with constant greenhouse gases being emitted into our atmosphere, the world deserves a time for change. institutions like kalu yala are shaping global sustainability to an all time high. from educating perspective students about their carbon footprint and allowing innovation throughout the community, students have the opportunity to promote change.

to find out more about the kalu yala institute, including tuition rates and different programs, click here.

this article was published on the cu independent. read the original article here: http://cuindependent.com/2016/03/07/kalu-yala-brings-sustainability-heart-jungle/.

according to the environmental protection agency, in 2014, in the united states, about 90 million tons of municipal solid waste, out of the 258 million tons generated, were recycled or composted. this equals a 34.6% recycling rate, not even close to half the total. recycling and composting however are not the only ways to reduce waste. an increasingly popular option for recyclable materials is to repurpose them; that is exactly what the charitable organization, soon to be nonprofit, alumin8 is doing.

noticing a flaw in the current recycling system, co-founders of alumin8 decided to do something to help in their local community of lincoln, nebraska. out of the 34.6% of recycled materials, metals such as aluminum or tin contributed only 9%, and in nebraska specifically that total was less than 4%.

university of nebraska-lincoln (unl) college of engineering junior and alumin8 executive director, dominic nguyen, explained that all aluminum cans have the potential to be recycled. the first time that the cans are, generally they are transformed back into more aluminum cans, which can result in the possibility that the cans will not be recycled again after this. alumin8 hopes to help solve this problem by repurposing aluminum cans and then donating these repurposed objects to local shelters.

“our cause helps minimize the metal waste generated by removing aluminum from this flawed sustainability cycle and transforming it into more permanent forms,” nguyen said. “we want to alumin8 [illuminate] the world one can at a time by promoting sustainability in an interactive way, while also giving back to the community.”

while an intern with nasa in silicon valley during the summer of 2016, nguyen met a fellow intern who had started his own company while still enrolled in college. intrigued, nguyen started thinking of founding his own company. shortly afterwards, in august of 2016, alumin8 was established. the idea for alumin8 was always in the back of nguyen’s mind, he recalled that even as a child he would find new uses for everyday objects such as boxes, cans, and even toy objects such as legos.

“i enjoyed turning simple objects into something more valuable,” nguyen said.

various entities of the university such as the unl college of engineering and the nebraska innovation studio have helped alumin8 in their sustainability efforts, through open-endorsement, can drives and other similar activities.

one of the leading contributors to alumin8 is the unl association of students of the university of nebraska’s (asun) green fund. the green fund is a student-funded grant program designed to provide funding and guidance for student-led environmental sustainability projects at the university. alumin8 is one of the first organizations to receive funding from the green fund. approximately $9,000 will be allotted to the organization; all of the money provided through the green fund is collected from the university’s students as a part of their student fees. about $1 each semester, per student is collected to help support the green fund. alumin8 is also a registered student organization at unl; interested students can easily become a part of this organizations sustainable effort if wanted.

“the goal of the fund is to enhance the overall campus sustainability,” unl college of business administration senior and asun green fund committee chair, cale brodersen said. “the green fund is actually small for the size of the university, but it’s really big in terms of that this is what starts to change the culture on campus.”

nguyen and his associates at alumin8 decided on aluminum as their product focus area for several reasons; aluminum is available in many forms, mostly cans, making it easier to collect and produce a greater quantity of products, and aluminum has a much lower melting point compared to other metals.

the repurposing process after collection is to first melt the cans into aluminum ingots. then through a process called green sand casting they create their products. throughout this process members will 3-d-print their design with the help of the nebraska innovation studio, and then create a mold of the design. once the molds are created, the ingots are melted down again and casted. after the final polishing and any additional treatments needed, the repurposed aluminum products are donated to communities throughout the lincoln area. products the organization hope to make through this process include cups, nightlights, trophies and plaques, toys and more.

“alumin8 is different from other organizations because it benefits the community in two ways; one by educating the public about sustainability in a fun way and the other by giving back to the homeless community,” nguyen said. “additionally, every recycled product is made from the contributions of environmentally-concerned people. at alumin8, anyone can be a part of something bigger.”

to learn more about alumni8, please visit https://www.alumin8.org/, and to learn more about unl’s green fund, visit http://asun.unl.edu/green-fund.

the event, which was hosted by the d.c. chapter of the sierra club in conjunction with the university’s center for environmental filmmaking, office of sustainability and zero waste club, took place in the malsi doyle and michael forman theater at the school of communication.

sierra club’s daniella castiel, one of the organizers of the screening, said that as consumers, one of the first steps in making a difference is seeking out as much information as possible on how our clothes are made, including by reading about the topic online or watching documentaries on it.

“when you know what actually happens, the next time you walk into a store and pick up a pair of jeans, you think twice about it,” castiel said. “when you think twice about something, you are being considerate, you are being conscientious about making that decision, you are looking for a better source, a better place to buy from.”

in her opening remarks introducing the film, castiel spoke about how the fashion industry is currently the planet’s second largest polluter of freshwater resources. castiel also brought up ethical implications of the fast fashion phenomenon, with consumers constantly chasing new trends and expecting cheaper items, leading to inhumane working conditions for many around the world.

“have you ever thought about the power and influence we all have the moment we purchase a piece of clothing?” castiel said. “did you know that 80 percent of garment workers are female teenagers and young adults, women and girls between the ages of 18 and 25, the ages of many of us, in this room?”

directed by andrew morgan, the documentary follows the making of clothes in today’s globalized world, looking at the cotton fields in texas, the busy factories in bangladesh and india where production is often outsourced to, and the fashion runways and shopping malls buzzing with customers. it includes voices from the fashion industry like designer stella mccartney.

the film discusses the 2013 rana plaza factory collapse in dhaka, bangladesh, that killed more than a 1,000 people. it showcases the struggles factory owners often face with retailers pressuring them to lower prices of products, forcing them to ignore the safety measures of the spaces in which their workers are in to keep up with consumer demand for cheaper clothing.

the film also talks about leather factories in kanpur, the leather export capital of india. there, every day, more than 50 million liters of toxic wastewater is produced, contaminating the only source of drinking water in the area with chemicals used to treat leather, causing serious health issues for the residents. major retailers from outside india are able to source cheap products while avoiding all accountability for the rising cost to the planet and human health, according to the filmmakers.

the film closes with morgan questioning how long people will continue to turn a blind eye to the lives of those behind our clothing, and whether or not we are at a turning point on the path to making real change.  

“in the midst of all the challenges facing us today, all the problems that feel bigger than us and beyond our control, maybe we could start here, with clothing,” morgan says at the end of the film.

castiel hopes students become more thoughtful consumers and examine their wardrobe and see the people behind the fashion labels after having seen the film, she told planet forward.

“consumers need to be more curious,” castiel said. “when they put on a t-shirt, they need to think, ‘whose hand has touched this t-shirt? who suffered to make this t-shirt?’”

au students jessica balerna and celange beck, co-presidents of the au zero waste club, said that they thought that while the film was a great place to start the conversation about the negative consequences of fast fashion, they would have liked to see more perspectives shown in the film, like the role of local and national governments when it comes to accountability, and more in-depth analysis and suggestions on how to create a more sustainable world. they said that their club has been working on starting a thrift store on campus for over a year and are currently waiting for approval from the university for their project.

balerna, a senior in the environmental science program in the college of arts and sciences, said the documentary ties in well with the idea behind the thrift store project, which is to try and encourage people to reuse items and be thoughtful buyers.

“instead of buying new and throwing it away, and buying new and throwing it away, you can buy used for less and sort of recycle it,” balerna said. “so when you get bored with what you have, instead of throwing it away, it goes to back to the thrift store for someone else to get excited about.”

beck, currently studying business administration at the kogod school of business, said that if and when the thrift store project is approved, the entire au community will benefit from it.

“the thrift store is another way to improve the community on campus,” beck said. “it’s about caring about the people and the planet simultaneously and having students involved in what we are doing at the store.”