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and hosts dozens of vendors demonstrating eco-friendly waste-reduction practices. Other programs include the annual campuswide Move Out initiative, class visits and campus recycling tours. UNC Charlotte’s research think-tank, the IDEAS (Infrastructure, Design, Environment & Sustainability) Center, hosts faculty fellows from here and other universities who provide research and critical thinking in tackling modern-day environmental problems. According to the IDEAS website, teams identify and research project-specific solutions “from unsustainable infrastructure, housing and technology design to practices more attuned to the challenges of the 21st century.” The teams offer perspectives from the fellows’ diverse subject expertise, including architecture; civil, mechanical, electrical and systems engineering; biology; business and geology. Among other activities, the prominent Levine Scholars program now hosts annual Campus Sustainability Conversations, where students discuss current sustainability topics, note possible solutions and participate in sustainability poster presentations. ZERO WASTE In October 2009, the UNC Board of Governors passed the University of North Carolina System Sustainability Policy. It called on universities to “develop policies and programs that work toward achieving zero waste.” Zero waste means recovering resources before they go into the municipal landfill. At the same time, Chancellor Philip Dubois signed the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment for UNC Charlotte to become greenhouse gas neutral by 2050. Still somewhat in its infancy, zero waste is an emerging global initiative. “We must invest funds and energy toward better product design, eliminate non-recyclable materials and coordinate efforts between manufacturers and end-users,” said recycling coordinator Boutin-Pasterz. With the University’s growing and vibrant waste-reduction programming, embracing zero waste was a natural next step for campus. In December 2012 the University began collecting pulped food waste from the Student Union for composting. “Earth Farms, a private company in Gaston County, comes once a week to empty food-waste containers and haul the food back to their facility for composting,” www.UNCC.edu
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The Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling takes the lead in UNC Charlotte diverting from landfills more than 40 percent of recyclable trash.
Although a handful of other universities have recently launched zerowaste practices in their existing stadiums — such as Ohio State — UNC Charlotte is the first to implement the strategy in a new stadium. said Boutin Pasterz. And that’s no small thing. The University has produced more than 12,500 pounds of pulped food in just the first four months of the program. FOOTBALL STADIUM UNC Charlotte’s new football stadium will serve as a highly visible benchmark for zero waste. “The idea was first discussed at a student Charlotte Green Initiative meeting two years ago. Committee members researched the possibilities and then submitted a proposal to student government,” recalled Hatley.
The Student Government Association then passed “The Zero Waste Vending Act” in April 2011, “encouraging dining services to incorporate zero-waste initiatives into the football stadium vendor contracts,” according to the document. Although a handful of other universities have recently launched zero-waste practices in their existing stadiums — such as Ohio State — UNC Charlotte is the first to implement the strategy in a new stadium. “We knew that introducing the stadium as zero waste would be much easier than converting it years down the line to incorporate recycling, composting and other green prospects,” said senior Ellen Payne, the Student Government Association’s secretary of sustainability and a well-regarded environmental student leader. Since then, representatives from the SGA, CGI and EARTH Club have met with the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling, as well as the campus’s food vendor, Chartwells, to turn plans into reality. Brad Green, director of catering and special services for Chartwells, said, “Students (still) want commercially viable brands that they are familiar with, as well as a wide variety of options.” To meet this demand, Chartwells and UNC Charlotte are working closely with vendors up front — particularly its larger vendors such as Bojangles and Coke — to “ensure an eco-friendly mindset,” said Green. “In Continued on p. 32 Q213
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