MCC Sustainability Efforts for October 2016

October is the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Campus Sustainability Month. This is a time to focus on our campus sustainability efforts and inspire students to become more active in preserving our environment and being better stewards of our resources.  To read more about AASHE and the Campus Sustainability check out http://www.aashe.org/campus-sustainability-month/.

I.    Did You Know?  MCC’s Emergency Services Education Center received an innovative LEED point for rainwater harvest.  A 40,000 gallon underground rainwater collection tank is located just east of the building.  Rainwater is collected, filtered and pumped for use to flush building restroom toilets and urinals. This results in a significant reduction in cost of water used at the facility and a reduction of the use of city treated water.

II.    Sustainability Activities on Campus this Fall: 
Keep Waco Beautiful Adopt a Street Program: MCC has adopted a segment of north 19th street from Powell Dr. to Lakeshore Dr.  The college has agreed to do a cleanup at least once a quarter with the first scheduled for the week of October 23-28.  All volunteers must sign a release form beforehand and Keep Texas Beautiful will provide the supplies needed for the clean-up. Please contact Donna Wiley at 299-8330 if you are interested in helping with this effort.

MCC’s Bi-annual Shred and Recycle Day this fall semester on October 28 from 7:00 am to noon at the back of the MAC parking lot.  Bring your items from home and work.  For more information, go to America Recycles Day at http://americarecyclesday.org/. 
a.    What if I need assistance with my materials?  For assistance with picking up recyclables before the event, call Sid Ross at 299-8849 or email Sid at sross@mclennan.edu.  
b.    What recyclables can I bring:  Bring paper goods, plastic, metals, cardboard, and corrugated boxes.  No need to remove staples or paperclips.  Plastic containers must be empty.
c.    What recyclables are not accepted?  Please do not bring any electronics, glass, Styrofoam, batteries, tires, appliances, used oil or oil filters, antifreeze, hazardous waste, or carbon paper.
d.    Will my items be shredded on campus?  Shredding does not take place at MCC, and we do not receive a formal document of destruction.  That service costs additional money.  We do receive confirmation that the paper items were shredded upon receipt by Cintas (previously known as Certishred). 
e.    Freecycle/reuse table: De-clutter your space and help us keep good stuff out of a landfill at the same time! Drop off clean, working items that you no longer need.  If you see an item on the table that you want, take it.  It's free.  Any leftover items will be donated to Goodwill.

Habitat Restore 50% Sale:  All items at the Restore will be half price on November 17 from 9 AM to 3 PM.  This is a great place to recycle and use building materials and household items.

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.  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

City Free ScrapTire Recycling Day:  The city of Waco has scheduled a special recycle day for tires at the Waco Solid Waste Services parking lot at 501 Schroeder Dr. on Saturday, October 22 from 7 AM to noon (see attached flyer).  This is open to Waco residents only. 

Pharmaceutical Recycling Day: Area police departments are hosting “Unwanted Drug Disposal Day” on Saturday, October 22 from 10 AM to 2 PM to “safely rid” prescriptions and over the counter drugs no longer needed within the community (see attached flyer).  Drop off points include the following locations:

HEWITT POLICE DEPARTMENT	100 PATRIOT COURT	HEWITT	TX, 76643
LORENA POLICE DEPARTMENT	100 N. BORDON ST.	LORENA	TX, 76655
WOODWAY PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT	920 ESTATES DRIVE	WOODWAY	TX, 76712
WACO POLICE DEPARTMENT	3115 PINE AVENUE	WACO	TX, 76701

Energy Conservation:  A reminder to everyone that continued energy conservation is an ongoing process and to power down computers or any electrical using equipment when not in use.  Take advantage light motion sensors and insure that they are working.

Campus bicycle rental program is alive and well.  This program is available to students, faculty, and staff.  Contact Janice Kasner at the physical plant 299-8863 if interested in renting a bicycle for the fall semester.  Bike rental fee is $10 a semester.

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/.

If you would like to join the Sustainability Committee and/or have ideas on how to promote sustainability on our campus, contact Sid Ross at sross@mclennan.edu or Fred Hills at fhills@mclennan.edu.  We are looking for new members and welcome all to our joint work.


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

The MCC Sustainability Committee