Sustainability at OSU

Film Plastic & E-waste Collection Week
Wed, March 6, 9 am – 7:30 pm, and
Weekdays Thurs-Wed, March 7-13, 9 am – 4 pm
Recycling Warehouse (644 SW 13th St.)

Help OSU compete nationally in the RecycleMania electronics and film plastics categories! Bring broken or unused electronics and clean film plastic (see list of accepted items below) for free recycling on any of the dates listed. OSU-owned or personal items welcome.

Bring items on any weekday March 6-13, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, or drop by our extended hours on the kickoff date on Wednesday, March 6, 9:00 am to 7:30 pm (Drop by between 5:30 and 7:30 pm for a chance to visit the OSUsed Store public sale!). Join this event on Facebook.

Items Accepted:

• TVs

  Items accepted. Click to view larger.

• Computer monitors
• Computers (laptops, CPUs)
• Computer parts – hard drives, circuit boards, CD roms, etc.
• Computer accessories – keyboards, mice, printers, modems, etc.
• Data and power cords, wire
• Cell phones, telephones
• Consumer electronics – radios, VCRs, projectors, MP3 players, etc.
• Small appliances – toasters, microwaves, etc.
• Film plastics – CLEAN grocery bags, retail bags, shrink wrap, and other clean bags labeled #2 or #4

Not Accepted:

• Plastics not accepted: mylar (shiny silver), biodegradable/compostable bags, frozen food bags, prewashed salad bags, any plastic with, food contamination, rigid plastics
• Refrigerators and non-electric hazardous waste such as batteries, light bulbs, paint, chemicals and motor oil also will not be accepted. Please contact Republic Services of Corvallis regarding proper disposal of these items (541-754-0444).

E-waste items will be responsibly recycled (or wiped and refurnished) in Cornelius, OR by Computer Drive Connection, or locally by OSU Surplus Property. Plastics will be processed by Garten in Salem.

This event is part of RecycleMania 2013, a national recycling competition between U.S. universities.

Some of the e-waste collected during a similar event held for RecycleMania 2012.

The National Wildlife Federation is now accepting applications for Campus Ecology Fellowships and their new NWF Emerging Leader Fellowships.

Since 2000, National Wildlife Federation has awarded over 150 Campus Ecology Fellowships to students across the country working on projects ranging from campus-wide energy audits to implementing sustainable forestry practices; reaching more than 2.5 million students, faculty, staff and community members at the fellowship campuses. 

NWF’s Campus Ecology Fellows confront global warming on their campuses and help to educate and engage the campus community on global warming impacts and solutions. Monetary fellowship grants are awarded to undergraduate and graduate students working with other members of the faculty, staff, or administration on projects designed to help reverse global warming on campus and beyond. In addition to a modest grant, Fellows also receive project support, leadership development, recognition of their accomplishments and other perks. “The NWF Campus Ecology Fellowship gave me one of my first opportunities to take a formal leadership role in political debates about environmental issues that I was studying in school. It was a formative moment in applying my passions for research and activism in service of a lifelong dedication to the health of social and ecological justice.”
–Emma Galaas Mulaney, 2005 Campus Ecology Fellow Now in 2013, the NWF is offering an Emerging Leaders Fellowship track which will offer Fellowships to post-graduate, young professionals (ages 21-35) interested in career development and leadership opportunities within the conservation movement.  The program is an extension of NWF’s successful Campus Ecology Fellows Program.  Throughout the fellowship term, selected applicants will be provided with leadership opportunities through NWF and our state affiliates, seed funding for their entrepreneurial efforts, additional leadership and skills trainings, and a diverse support network of peers and mentors.  2013 is the inaugural year of this Fellowship program.

Since 2000, the NWF has awarded over 150 Campus Ecology Fellowships to students across the country working on projects ranging from campus-wide energy audits to implementing sustainable forestry practices; reaching more than 2.5 million students, faculty, staff and community members at the fellowship campuses. 

NWF’s Campus Ecology Fellows confront global warming on their campuses and help to educate and engage the campus community on global warming impacts and solutions.

“The NWF Campus Ecology Fellowship gave me one of my first opportunities to take a formal leadership role in political debates about environmental issues that I was studying in school. It was a formative moment in applying my passions for research and activism in service of a lifelong dedication to the health of social and ecological justice.”
–Emma Galaas Mulaney, 2005 Campus Ecology Fellow

Now in 2013, the NWF is offering an Emerging Leaders Fellowship track which will offer Fellowships to post-graduate, young professionals (ages 21-35) interested in career development and leadership opportunities within the conservation movement.  The program is an extension of NWF’s successful Campus Ecology Fellows Program.  Throughout the fellowship term, selected applicants will be provided with leadership opportunities through NWF and our state affiliates, seed funding for their entrepreneurial efforts, additional leadership and skills trainings, and a diverse support network of peers and mentors.  2013 is the inaugural year of this Fellowship program.

The deadline to apply is April 14th, 2013. For application materials and more information, please visit nwf.org/fellows.

Come to the Recycling Warehouse at 644 SW 13th Street on Wednesday, February 27th between the hours of 5 and 7 pm for our Repair Fair!

Bring your broken items and questions; volunteers will help you learn how to repair your things (see list below for what’s on offer this time)! Repair demonstrations also offered. Save money, save natural resources.

Repair skills offered for:

• Appliances (small items only, please)
• Bicycles
• Clothing (hand and machine sewing)
• Computers (hardware and software)
• Electronics (small items only, please)
• Housewares (furniture, ceramics, lamps, etc.)
• Jewelry
• And more!

Repair demonstrations:

5:10-5:30 – Vacuum Troubleshooting
5:30-5:50 – Common Computer Problems
6:00-6:20 – 3 Common Sewing Fixes
6:30-6:50 – Basic Bike Maintenance

More event details:

We don’t have spare parts, but will do our best to repair what we can and/or refer you to where you could find the parts you need. If you have parts already, we may be able to help you install them.

Directions: Enter through the warehouse gates on 13th St., between the railroad tracks and A Ave.

RSVP to this event on Facebook.

Repair Fairs are sponsored by Campus Recycling and the Student Sustainability Initiative, and will occur twice per term during the 2012-13 academic year.

Clothing station volunteer Emily Dunham helps an attendee repair a shirt.

RecycleMania is a 10-week national recycling competition between universities, which started January 20th and runs through March 30th.

OSU is competing to recycle the most both nationally and in the Civil War with the University of Oregon. As of this blog post, we are leading Oregon 3.05 to 2.74 lbs. per person!

Calendar

Events and other opportunities are offered every week; here’s the line-up for the next couple weeks:

• Res. Hall Eco-Challenge Month: February 1 – March 1, all res. halls. Residents compete to conserve the most by recycling and saving energy!
• OSUsed Store Food Drive Discount Sales: Wednesdays, February 13, 20 and 27, 12-3 pm, OSUsed Store, 644 SW 13th St. Bring 1-2 food donation items for 10% off or 3+ items for 25% your purchase!
• Recycled Craft ‘n’ Care: Tuesday, February 12, 5:00 – 8:00 pm, Java II (Valley Library). Create recycled decorations to donate to charity, and recycled cards for your loved ones! Join on Facebook.
• Worm Bin Workshop: Monday, February 25, 3:30 – 6:30 pm, Student Sustainability Center, 738 SW 15th St. Learn how to compost your food scraps with worms and leave with a ready-to-go bin! Register here by Sunday, February 24th.
• Save the date and save your materials: Film Plastic & E-Waste Collection: Wednesday, March 6 at 9:00 am-7:30 pm and Thursday-Wednesday, March 7-8 and 11-13 at 9:00 am-4:00 pm. Recycling/Surplus warehouse, 644 SW 13th St.

Check out the full RecycleMania calendar here. You can also participate by throwing away less and recycling more.

Happy RecycleMania!

This February, take charge of your energy use by joining Campuses Take Charge—you could win great prizes and help OSU become one of the most energy efficient campuses in the nation! Go online and choose three energy-saving actions to try for one month. At the end of the month, tell us how it went by completing a quick online survey, and you’ll receive an exclusive Take Charge Coupon Card featuring Corvallis businesses and be entered into a drawing for lots of great prizes—including $100 cash!

Added Bonus! If you are a member of a sorority or fraternity, you’ll receive two points when you complete the Campuses Take Charge survey at the end of the month. If you live in a Res. Hall, your participation in Campuses Take Charge will help your Hall compete in RecycleMania and Campus Conservation Nationals.

The OSU Sustainability Office seeks a student employee to scope and implement energy conservation projects and execute related programmatic tasks. The Sustainability Office is part of Campus Operations, the department responsible for development, construction and maintenance of OSU’s physical infrastructure.

Work schedule can be somewhat flexible depending on the student’s needs, but must remain responsive to workload. The successful candidate will work 10-20 hours per week during the academic year and 20-40 hours per week during summer, depending on workload, performing the following:

• Become familiar with construction processes in Campus Operations in order to plan and help manage energy and water conservation projects.  This includes:
  • Retrieve and review construction documents from the OSU Plan Center
  • Inspect projects, attend construction progress meetings, review submittals
• Read OSU utility meters monthly, requiring extensive movement throughout campus and access to mechanical rooms, roofs and other restricted areas

• Perform field work like pipe insulation, CFL installation, small equipment installation/modification, etc.
• Survey buildings for conservation opportunities
• Suggest process improvements for existing resource conservation programs

Applications for this position are accepted through Thursday, February 7th.

For the full position description and information on how to apply, click here.