UCSU is now the first zero-waste student government in the nation after becoming green office certified by CU’s Environmental Center last week.
Throughout the current school year, UCSU will be passing several policies and programs aimed at reducing its ecological and social footprint, according to UCSU Sustainability Director Dan Omasta.
“CU students have an impressive history of social and environmental action over the past 40 years,” Omasta said.
As part of the change, the student union recently distributed a 17-question sustainability survey to all of its cost centers in order to calculate their understanding of campus goals and to receive input on potential sustainability policies in the future.
UCSU then plans to consider legislation that would propel all of its buildings and costs centers toward becoming zero-waste operations, Omasta said.
On top of this, Omasta said that UCSU will be joining forces with a company called SmartSync to install energy meters in the UMC, Wardenburg and the Rec Center by the start of the spring semester. This will allow students, faculty and staff to monitor energy use in real time.
The student government is also reaching out to CU Alumni Center’s Forever Buffs program to help students connect with green jobs and mentoring from CU Alums all over the country, Omasta said.
“A portion of the reason behind UCSU’s drive towards sustainability is rooted in the strong environmental history we have on this campus,” Omasta said.
However, Omasta explained that sustainability programs can also save students significant amounts of money.
LEED Gold standards enforced in the Wolf Law building save students an average of $250,000 annually, Omasta said. Furthermore, he said that using compost pick-up instead of trash collection is three times less expensive.
“By going zero waste, UCSU and its cost centers can save students significant amounts of student fees,” Omasta said.
While the ecological impact of this change is obvious, Omasta said that there is a social justice aspect to the work UCSU is doing to become more sustainable as well.
“By increasing the level of sustainability in its daily operations, UCSU intends to physically reduce the health and environmental burden that its students place on underrepresented communities,” Omasta said.
Rebecca Blonder, a 21-year-old senior communication major, said she is proud that CU is the first zero-waste campus and she hopes that other campuses will follow suit.
“I think it is great that our campus is the first to do this,” Blonder said. “I think it is important that all campuses go green and the fact that it is going to save money during this economic crisis makes it even better.”
Jeremy Zander, a 21-year-old senior communication major, said he was excited CU has made another step toward cementing its place as one of the nation’s greenest universities.
“That’s fantastic!” Zander said. “I never thought I would see this actually happening to this extent.”
Even though most students seem to be on board with UCSU pushing for progressive sustainability projects and policies on campus, Omasta said that real change needs to come from every individual student on campus.
“The UMC could purchase compost bins for their dining area, but if students do not take the two seconds needed to decide what material is compostable and what is trash, then all efforts to save money and reduce waste are null,” Omasta said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Lindsay Gulisano at Lindsay.gulisano@colorado.edu.
