T.E.D Talk- "How to use a paper towel"

If you are like me, you get annoyed when the automatic towel dispenser in the bathroom gives you only one, small piece of a paper towel.  It is sometimes so small, that I have to motion for two or three more little pieces just to dry my hands!

However, after coming across this 2012 T.E.Dx talk by environmentalist Joe Smith from Oregon, I now realize I've been doing it all wrong!

I invite you all to watch this short 4 minute clip as Joe explains the proper way to use a paper towel.  Afterwards, you might realize that a small little paper towel is all you really need. And if we can reduce the number of paper towels used each day by the library staff, we will not only be saving money but also helping the environment.

Enjoy!
Sean

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Commingled Paper

With the holidays upon us, lots of paper will be used to ship and wrap gifts. Find out what commingled paper you should use that can be recycled at UNCG!

Ben Kunka of OWRR discusses this topic in the third podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG.




Transcript (pdf)

Watch the previous podcasts:

• Introduction


• Plastics
  

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Construction Waste

Construction - it's everywhere.

With all of the construction going on at the university, you are probably wondering what happens to all of the debris and construction waste.

This Green Leak of the week highlights sustainability efforts in construction and renovation projects at UNCG, including the recent renovation projects in Jackson Library.

Ben Kunka of OWRR discusses the topic of recycling construction waste in the 7th podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG.




Transcript (pdf)

Watch the previous podcasts:

• Introduction


• Plastics


• Comingled paper


• Office Paper


• Electronic Waste


• Dining Services

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Dining Services

This Green Leak of the week highlights sustainability efforts in Dining Services at UNCG, including composting of food waste and compostable plates, cups, and utensils.

Kevin Deans of Dining Services and Ben Kunka of OWRR discuss this topic in the 6th podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG.



Transcript (pdf)

Watch the previous podcasts:

• Introduction


• Plastics


• Comingled paper


• Office Paper


• Electronic Waste

Green Leak - Recycling E-waste @UNCG

This Green Leak of the week discusses e-waste recycling at UNCG and landfill bans in NC.

Ben Kunka of OWRR discusses this topic in the 5th podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG.



Transcript (pdf)

Watch the previous podcasts:

• Introduction


• Plastics


• Comingled paper


• Office Paper
  

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Office Paper

Did you know that some types of paper can be recycled in a way that makes money for UNCG?

In this fourth video in our recycling series, Ben Kunka of OWRR tells us about office paper recycling and why it's good to keep office paper separate from commingled paper.





Transcript (pdf)

Watch the previous podcasts:

• Introduction
  
• Plastics
  
• Commingled Paper
  

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Plastics

Ever wondered what kinds of plastics can be recycled at UNCG?

Find out from Ben Kunka of OWRR in this second podcast in our series about recycling and waste reduction at UNCG. If you missed the first one, you can watch it here.





Transcript:
Transcript (pdf)

Biking Options @UNCG

Bike loans and rentals available now, sponsored by HealthyUNCG and Spartan Cycles. $25 fall semester bike rental special includes bike, helmet, lock and basic maintenance for the rest of the semester through Reading Day 12/6/11. Email bike@uncg.edu to schedule an appointment to pick out a bike and for more info.

More bike racks are coming soon! Look for new bike racks to be installed near the Rec Center, HHP, Bryan, School of Education, and MHRA Moore Humanities buildings as well as Ragsdale-Mendenhall and Weil-Winfield residence halls. Remember to always secure your bicycle to a designated bike rack. Never create a safety hazard by chaining your bike to a railing, bench, sign, or post.

Bike registration benefits include FREE emergency ride home and discounts at local bike shops. Visit http://parking.uncg.edu/bike or stop by the Parking Operations & Campus Access Management office adjacent to the Walker Avenue Parking Deck for more information.

(Photo credit @protorio)

Green Leak: Recycling at UNCG - Introduction

Remember when we asked if anyone had questions about recycling?

This is the first in a series of podcasts about recycling at UNCG that should answer those questions and more.





Transcript:
Transcript (pdf)

Office of Sustinabiltiy - No Impact Project Week Events!

No Impact Kick Off Event! View selected clips of the No Impact Movie and network with other students on how to lessen your impact on the environment. The Office of Sustainability will be on hand to answer your questions and get you started on the right path. Monday, October 24th at 6:30p.m @Music Building Room 217


Monday: Consumption Challenge
The “Story of Stuff” video will the shared with students. Information will be provided to students about reducing purchase, buying handmade, local, and low-packaged goods. Students will also be able to participate in a mug and book exchange. Any leftover mugs and books will be donated to the Salvation Army.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 3p.m.

Tuesday: Transportation Challenge
The Parking and Campus Access Office will be providing programming on low-impact methods of transportation available to students.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 2p.m.


Wednesday: Food Challenge
Healthy recipes made with local food will be featured at tabling activity in the EUC. Also, information will be shared with students about foods with the lowest carbon footprint.

Location: Inside the EUC
Time: 10a.m. to 3p.m.

****A camera will be set up at Campus Sustainability events on Walker Circle for students to record testimonials about their No Impact experience**** 10am to 3pm****

Thursday: Energy Challenge
The Triad Student Energy Alliance (founding chapter at UNCG) will host an energy triathlon event!

1. Vampire Energy Slaying
2. Clean Energy and Conservation letter writing and petition
3. Energy Jeopardy game

Participate in 1 event and have your name entered to win a small energy-related goodie bag.
Participate in 2 events and have your name entered to an energy related prize.
Participate in 3 events and have your name entered to win the energy prize package.

www.triadstudentenergyalliance.wordpress.com

• Energy Jeopardy 9-11a.m. Azalea Room
• Green Dorm Audits 2-3:30pm
• Vampire Energy Slaying 5-7pm (meet in front of Music Building)

Friday: Water Challenge
A water taste test will be to see if students can tell the difference between tap water and bottled water. Information about the issues surrounding water will be shared with students as well.

Location: College Ave, near the EUC sidewalk
Time 10a.m. to 3p.m.

****A camera will be set up at this event for students to record testimonials about their No Impact experience**** 10am to 3pm****

From Jessica Trotman, Sustainability Education & Outreach Specialist
UNCG Office of Sustainability jgtrotma@uncg.edu 336-334-3664
www.uncg.edu/fac/sustainability
www.uncgsustainability.wordpress.com

Green Leak of the Month

Really, anything can be reused or repurposed.  This blog - How Can I Recycle This?  -  offers over 900 items and over 14,000 suggestions of ways to reuse, repurpose or recycle things that would otherwise go in the bin! Check it out, search for most anything and find creative and useful ideas for recycling!  From VHS tapes to crock pots to old lentils to  house keys.  Search and explore or share your own ideas.  You can also follow them on twitter.

Green Leak of the Week: Wildcrafting 01 - An Introduction

This is the introductory video of the Green Library Group's YouTube series. To start the series, Stacey briefly discussed what wildcrafting is and how wildcrafting is a vehicle for building a beneficial relationship between you and your environment.

Green Leak of the Week 4/28/11

Now that you have all converted your light bulbs in your house to the CFLs (you know the pig tail ones). What do you do with them when they finally die? They are considered a hazardous waste. That means they cannot be placed in your trash cans. You can now bring them in and place them in the CFL collection box in the vending machine room in the basement. It has picture on it and is really obvious.

Unlike taking them to Home Depot, you do not need to place them in a bag. Just place your CFL bulb in the bucket just inside the box. (The bucket already has a bag in it)

Happy Recycling!
Ann

Green Leak: UNCG Transportation Challenge

The UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge is a University initiative to support the annual Triad Commute Challenge sponsored by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) and Triad Air Awareness.

$ave money, help the environment, and register for multiple chances to win great prizes by participating in the annual UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge.

Step 1: Pledge to try a form of sustainable transportation -- bike, bus, carpool, walk, or Zipcar -- at least once before July 9th. Completing an online or paper pledge form is quick and easy; the pledge process takes less than a minute of your time.

Step 2: Choose a form of sustainable transportation (bike, bus, carpool, walk, or Zipcar -- anything other than driving alone) and give it a try at least once before July 9th.

Don’t have a car on campus? Great! You’re already using sustainable transportation so why not go ahead and submit a pledge form to be rewarded for your efforts.

In exchange for pledging to drive alone less, participants are eligible to receive a free tote bag or lunch bag, two PART bus passes, and a reflective blinking light to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety. These small prizes may be picked up from the parking office adjacent to Walker Deck. Participants also will be entered to win prizes including a new bicycle ($500 value), an iPad 2, athletic gear, bike helmets, bike locks, gift certificates, and more!

Weekly prize drawings begin April 9th. Earn extra points and increase your chance of winning by collecting pledges from friends. Earn even more points by collecting bike registrations too.

Pledge online at http://partnc.org/challenge.html or stop by the parking office adjacent to the Walker Avenue Parking Deck for more information.

NOTE: The UNCG Campus Transportation Challenge is a University initiative to support the annual Triad Commute Challenge sponsored by the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) and Triad Air Awareness. Last year PART collected more than 4,000 pledges throughout the 10-county Triad region, and 49% came from UNCG. Our goal this year is 5,000 total pledges with a least half coming from UNCG.

Green Leak of the Week--A Cleaner Commute

Just in time for Spring and rising gas prices, Campus Recreation is now offering free showers for staff and faculty who ride their bikes or walk to work. To participate, you need to fill out a brief agreement available here.

Thanks to Laurie for the picture of Chad!

Green Leaks of the Month

Two recent library green things to mention (thanks Ann & Audrey for heads-up):

1) Check out the new Recycling Large Green Bin in the Vending Machine Room in the Basement. The following items can be placed in it: VHS tapes, Cell Phones, DVDs, Floppy Disks, Computers, Batteries, CDs.

NOTE: you cannot place computers purchased with state funds in this bin.

2)The UNCG Office of Sustainability has given the library a handful of flatware now located in the Jackson Library Staff Room in an effort to reduce the usage of disposable eating utensils. Please try to use these or your own reusable mugs, flatware and dishes whenever possible. (remember - reuse before recycling!)

Green Leak for the Month - Just in Time for Thanksgiving!

If you're looking for a good read during your Thanksgiving travels - or a way to carve out some quiet space during reunions - take a book with you! [Unless you are the one driving.] Check out the "See a Book - Read a Book" bookcase in the Jackson Library Staff Room for a wide selection of novels, mysteries, thrillers - you name it. All books are free. If you see a book you'd like to read, then take it. If you have books to share, bring them. I found a copy of The New York Times' 60-Minute Gourmet for my very own.

Go find your treasure!

Green Leak of the Month: Create Gift Bags from Old Newspaper

Need a crafty project when stuck inside on a hot summer day? one projects that your kids might enjoy ... or crafty adults ... which is economical and green! If you have lots of newspaper lying around, its great to recycle it, but why not REUSE first. Here are some easy to follow steps on creating gift bags from newspaper. If you want more ideas, you can also make gift bags from envelopes .... or try gift bows from old magazines.

Green Leak of the Month: Green Holiday Tips

• Plant a tree in someone’s name from Arbor Day, Nature Conservancy, or Eco-Libris.
• Make a wish list at a variety of online sites or email it to close friends or family. (rather than give or receive an unwanted gift that will go to waste … or …. see the next item…
• Re-Gifting is NOT a crime! If you do not like a gift you receive keep it in the original packaging and give to someone who would like it. If the gift is valuable, Craigslist is a great way to even make money on the item if you can not return it to the store. If no one would like it then donate it to the Salvation Army, Goodwill or other thrift store to give it one more chance before it goes to the landfill.
• Give the gift of experiences/activities. Buy tickets for plays, concerts, tours or other fun events such as a play, a symphony, a winery tour, cooking, art, or dancing classes, or a visit to a therapeutic specialist ( professional massage is NEVER a bad gift
• Feed and hydrate your loved ones. Making a pie, baking some cookies, infusing your favorite vodka, or reviving Grandmother’s recipe for those you love is a meaningful and unique gift.
• Seeds: the gift that will continue to keep on giving. Heirloom tomatoes and herb seeds are great gifts that will bear fruit well into the future.
• Honor your loved one with a donation in their name. Heifer Project gives those in need all around the world animals that will give them a hand up. American Red Cross, Animal Shelters,Orphanages and Battered Women Shelters are always in need. Go online and find a reputable charity that will put your money to work helping others.
• Reuse papers to wrap gifts, regular glossy wrapping paper is not recyclable but newspaper and magazines are…. or try old maps (as a former Map Librarian I still have some old maps I can use and reuse as cool wrapping paper)
• Be creative with shipping containers and ways of packing the goodies. Pop corn or balled up newspaper are much better than Styrofoam. If you have Styrofoam then find a way to reuse it in another package. While not recyclable Styrofoam peanuts can be brought to any UPS store where they will gladly take it for reuse.
• Look for fair trade products or items made of recycled materials.
• Sierra Club has more green Christmas tips, Treehugger has a 2009 gift guide, and the Daily Green has a variety of categories to choose from (such as item under $20, Safe green toys, DIY gifts, etc) or check out the Green Depot. I personally love Global Girlfriend – not only fair trade items but made by women.

From Going Green @ your library blog.