STU marches towards an environmentally friendly campus

Conservation of our World and its natural resources is an issue that affects all levels of society. In a university setting, it’s especially important, because it sets the tone for future generations. 

At STU there is an increasingly higher preoccupation about how solid waste is managed on campus and off-campus. Sunday nights is the time in which recyclables and returnables are collected at STU various housing complexes for further processing.

 

Facilities management has shown its interest in recycling by conducting an environmental audit of its facilities, which established where the university stands and what are the goals for the future. Philip Cliff, its Director, is focused on making sure that the campus reduces most of the waste produced on campus.  “This year we’ll be reestablishing the advisory committee on campus environmental and one of the focuses will be to review the audit,” he said, which is a testament of STU’s commitment to being greener.

 

But not only STU´s institutions are involved. Enactus, an organization that helps entrepreneurs achieve their goals via funding and planning, has created a business called  Paletto. Its goal is to create new uses for freight pallets that more often than ever lay around in warehouses and big chain businesses with no use. Manuel García talks about its goals and declares “it all started as an initiative to reduce waste from Home-Depot because the pallets they use were being wasted so we told them we could find a different use”.

 

All these initiatives show how much more conscientious students and faculty are about recycling, and although much is being done, there is still a long way to go.

Rafael Parra, STU Journalism