MCC’s Bi-annual Shred and Recycle Day

MCC’s Bi-annual Shred and Recycle Day is Friday, November 2^nd from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm at the back of the MAC parking lot.  You can bring your items from home and  work.  

Recyclables and Paper Items:  You can bring your items from home and work you want shredded or just to recycle.  We have both options to better serve you! 

We are not  accepting:  electronics, white goods, glass, tires, paint, oil products, or household hazardous waste.

All other single stream recyclables currently put in our bins on campus will be accepted.

 

Free Mulch Giveaway: MCC is giving away FREE MULCH at the MCC Bosque River Stage Mulch Site (not the 19^th/Powell Site).    Get a head start on your spring time gardening efforts by picking up your mulch. 

·        Mulch will be distributed in bulk form; thus, it will not be in bags.

·        A truck bed or trailer will be required to receive the bulk mulch.

·        All trucks need to utilize a tarp to secure their mulch to prevent air quality or waste issues.

·        Physical Plant Staff will be at the mulch site to load it for you.

·        This is a free service and you can have as much as you want.

If you need assistance with having your recyclables picked up,  please call Sid Ross at 299-8849 or email him at sross@mclennan.edu.  

The MCC Sustainability Committee appreciates your help and time to protect our environment!

MCC Sustainability Efforts for October 2012

1.  Did You Know? The Physical Plant grounds folks are looking at ways to conserve irrigation water on campus.  They are working with Calsense, a water management company, to set up a demonstration of their system that will monitor ground conditions and only call for water if the ground condition requires it.  In addition, the system will send an alarm to grounds supervision, notifying them if a main irrigation line ruptures, and will automatically close the control valve, stopping the leak.  These improvements will help the college reduce irrigation water usage, thereby cutting cost and conserving a natural resource.  The grounds folk understand the importance of water conservation and how this improvement will help the college be better stewards of the environment.

II.  Sustainability Activities on Campus this Fall:

• MCC Semi-Annual Shred & Recycle Day:  MCC has two shred and recycle days each year, one in the fall and one in spring.  The next event will be November 2nd from 8 AM to 1 PM in the MAC parking lot.  Look for the Certishred truck and large dumpster.  We will be collecting the following:
• For shredding, any paper including sensitive files such as grades, tests, or other materials, including personal paper items from home. You need not remove staples. Just bring your paper goods, and Certishred will do the rest!

• For plastics, cardboard, corrugated boxes, and metals (no glass!) a recycling dumpster will be provided.  Please take glass to the Cobbs Center (see below).

If you have class or meetings during the event or if you need physical assistance handling your paper goods, contact Sid Ross directly at 299-8849 and he will arrange for pick-up by a physical plant employee.  For additional questions, contact Elaine Fagner at 299-8442.

• Glass Recycling: Cobbs Convenience Center accepts plastic, aluminum and other metal, cardboard, paper, and corrugated box material from anyone, including those living outside the Waco area.  Glass is accepted only from Waco residents.  The Cobbs Convenience Center is located at 2021 North 44th Street and is open Tuesday through Saturday (8 am - 5 pm) to drop off your materials free of charge.  For a map to the site and more details go to: http://www.waco-texas.com/solid-waste-recycling.asp

III.  What are your thoughts on our sustainability efforts?  Check out our website at http://www.mclennan.edu/gogreen/ and our blog at http://mccgogreen.blogspot.com/.

Thanks for your support.  It takes the entire College to make sustainability work!

The MCC Sustainability Committee

MCC Sustainability Efforts for May 2012

1. Did You Know? "Americans generate more trash than anyone else on the planet: more than 7 pounds per person each day" (http://m.npr.org/news/Science/150735732.) Some 70% of it, mostly containers & packaging, goes directly into landfills, and nearly all of it could be recycled. Moreover, our trash has a wider impact than our local area. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a composite of plastics and other trash that has floated into a region between Hawaii and California within the North Pacific Subtropical High (http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html). Some of this massive floating trash patch is visible, but much consists of miniscule floating plastic debris, none of it immediately biodegradable. Part of this Garbage Patch floats in the Subtropical Convergence Zone, just north of the Hawaiian archipelago, where it threatens the abundant marine life, including the not-so-abundant endangered Monk Seal.

How can you help from Waco, Texas? Recycle your plastic containers right here on the MCC campus in our single-stream recycling containers! Many Waco communities also offer curbside recycling. For more information, see http://www.waco-texas.com/solid-waste-curbside.asp.

2. MCC’s Sustainability Activities Impacting our Community in 2011-12:
a. The 2012 Recycle Mania competition was a huge success. MCC recycled over 27,705 pounds of single-stream recyclables this year. That is over 13.85 tons of waste that would have gone to the landfill. In 2010, MCC recycled just over 20,000 pounds. In 2011, MCC launched a major campaign and recycled over 38,500 pounds of single-stream recyclables. Without the same large promotion this year, MCC steadily improved monthly recycling across campus and still recycled a significant amount. Next year, MCC is aiming for 40,000 pounds, a goal we can reach through the competitive and cooperative spirit of students, faculty, and staff. Look for reminders next year!

b. MCC was honored with its first Tree Campus USA designation in March. A tree survey was done to determine the health and status of trees on campus, and over 30 student volunteers helped spread mulch around our beautiful trees on our tree day.

c. MCC also held two Recycle/Shred Day events on campus this year (November and March). Continue to save your paper for our November shred day and bring us all your other recyclables too!

d. Get free mulch for your yard & garden! Contact the Physical Plant at 299-8863 to load up.

e. The MCC Community Garden has grown to 19 plots, all of them now rented to faculty and staff. In fall 2012 a community plot will be ready to harvest. The fresh vegetables will go to the MCC Food Pantry and to MCC students and employees.

3. Computer Tips:
Please consider shutting down office and lab computers, monitors, and printers when away this summer to save energy and to reduce vulnerability to hackers and other malicious activities. For daily energy savings, consider turning off the monitor when not using your PC for more than 20 minutes and turning off both CPU and monitor if not using them for more than 2 hours.

4. Our Newest Addition to the Committee - Ruben Salazar: Ruben brings a passion for sustainability and works hard to engage MCC students in the process. His contribution to this newsletter is to please do your part and save water this summer in selecting native plants, watering in the early morning and/or late evening, and trying drip irrigation. He will have more in future Notes.

5. How are we doing? Check out our website at http://www.mclennan.edu/gogreen/.

Thanks for your support. It takes the entire College to make sustainability work!

The MCC Sustainability Committee

MCC’s Arbor Day Event

Please come join us on March 29, 2012 for

MCC’s Tree Campus USA Ceremony &

Bob Ford’s 45^th Year Service Tree Dedication

McLennan Community College has been named a 2011 Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in honor of the college's commitment to effective community forestry management. This is the first time MCC has been honored with this distinction. The college is one of only six higher education institutions in Texas to earn this designation and one of only two community colleges to do so. Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. For a complete press release about this event, visit: http://www.mclennan.edu/news/973.html.

Key events occurring on MCC’s Arbor Day Event include:

1:00 pm – 2:15 pm: MCC Students Volunteer Event for mulch spreading outside the Science Building by the water fountains.

2:30 pm: Tree Campus USA & Arbor Day Celebration & Bob Ford’s Tree Dedication Ceremony located outside the Lecture Hall (all students, staff, and faculty are invited).

After Dedication: Janice Jackson (Campus Botanist/Biology Instructor) will lead a tree tour of campus.

For more information about the Arbor Day Celebration, contact sustainability committee member Elaine Fagner at 299-8442 or efagner@mclennan.edu.