ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COMMITTEE
May 16, 2001
EMU Umpqua Room

ATTENDEES: Mary Clayton, J.R. Gaddis, Robyn Hathcock, Kay Coots, Bob Jones, Sean Henderson, Vera Kewene, Teresa Koberstein, Christine Thompson, Tom Driscoll, John Sargeant

UO Catering:

Tom Discoll, Food Services Director, and John Sargeant, Catering Manager, addressed the following recycling issues:

• Two potential alternatives to the white box used to package lunches have been considered. One is 100% recycled paper, but it’s slightly smaller than current box. The second was a better size but had to be assembled. John felt that a more suitable box can be found.


• "Please Recycle" can be added to labels the next time they are printed. The committee suggested additional information could be added such as "please recycle this box only in low grade" and "made from recycled materials"
• Located unbleached napkins which are available at the same price.
• Found a source for recycled plasticware made from milk cartons and plastic bags.
• An alternative to the plastic container for salads and trail mix has not been found.
• Another option is the business buffet lunch that is offered at the same cost. This is the same lunch without the individual box.
• Food for Lane County takes prep food and other leftovers from Carson kitchen on a regular basis. Mary will talk to Elva Keopp to verify what is being done.

J.R. contacted OSU and found that they do not have a recycling program for catering. They did provide him with several web sites and EPA and DEQ grant information.

Pending the outcome of today’s meeting, the committee planned to prepare general recommendations for Dan Williams to encourage UO to move in this direction. An additional point would be to require outside caterers to follow the same guidelines.

Green Campus:

There was some concern that an article by Noel Perrin, "The Greenest Campuses: An Idiosyncratic Guide," Chronicles of Higher Education, did not mention UO. Christine Thompson pointed out that when Kurt Ticard from Brown University visited our campus he was extremely impressed with our environmental programs. (Brown was prominently mentioned in this article.) It was felt that UO would benefit from creating a position to do this type of promotion.

Mary asked for ideas on who could work more intensively on public relations issues. Everyone felt that Karyn Kaplan already does a lot of this type of promotion; however, much of her time is needed to run the recycling program with a crew of 45 employees. It was suggested that a student position be created over the summer to work exclusively on promotion and that a funding request for $5,000 be submitted to Dan Williams. Some ideas on what this position could accomplish:

• Create comprehensive package on all that is being done on campus
• Show profit in savings benefits from implementing environmentally sound practices
• Work to promote UO as a green campus
• Use as a recruitment tool
• Help to build the EIC web site

Mary will draft a funding proposal for the committee’s approval.

Sustainability Plan:

The Sustainable Development Plan has been formally adopted. This plan establishes sustainability guidelines for all campus development projects, such as in new additions, remodeling, landscaping, etc. There is a link to the plan on the EIC web page.

Administrative Issue:

The vice president’s office asked the committee to choose a chairperson for next year.

Bob Jones volunteered and was unanimously accepted.

Mary will draft a final report for the committee’s approval.

The next Environmental Issues Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday,

June 20 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the EMU Umpqua Room.