Gerald Sanders, who supervises the NC State Dearstyne recycling facility, receives about 100 deliveries a week of items that are reused or recycled.

On the far west side of NC State’s main campus, thousands of pounds of material discarded on campus finds another purpose at the Dearstyne Roll-off Convenience Site.  Here, campus yard waste, scrap metal, wooden pallets, used tires and more are collected and sorted before 93 percent of material is reused or recycled.

From campus construction debris to electronics and other items banned from N.C. landfills, this multi-purpose recycling and disposal facility takes in the misfits of discarded material – the items that traditional municipal waste or recycling won’t accept.

“It can be a challenge to find acceptable disposal or recycling options for many of the items that come to the site,” said Nessa Stone, operations manager for NC State’s Waste Reduction and Recycling. “We are committed to finding better waste management solutions by identifying new recycling markets as they become available.”

Because the market for recycled material changes constantly, items that last year may have been sent to landfills might now be recyclable.  For example, the site began recycling rigid plastics such as buckets in February, already diverting 7,100 pounds of this material from landfills.

Among the items sorted at the Dearstyne facility are discarded electronics, which are banned from landfills and must be responsibly recycled.

Before the facility opened in 2011, campus construction waste accumulated at a small bulk waste site near Sullivan Shops. But with little room to collect, haul and sort materials, many items were ultimately thrown away. Now, the Dearstyne facility reuses or recycles nearly all of its 100 weekly deliveries, which are mostly from Facilities and University Housing.

“But others [on campus] are hearing about the site,” said the site’s supervisor Gerald Sanders, who helped build the facility. “People should bring their stuff here so they aren’t throwing in dumpsters.”

Currently, NC State diverts nearly half of campus waste from landfills, but the university’s goal is to increase that to 65 percent.

“In order to reach our diversion goals the rates of reuse and recycling must increase and the amount of waste going to the landfill must decrease,” Stone said.

From left (top): Rachel Gonsalves, Aaron Burkhart, Natalia Ospina (bottom): Brian Iezzi, Caroline Hansley, Lauryn Coombs

In one semester, six sustainable students helped start a new leadership program that will influence future Wolfpack generations.

NC State Stewards wouldn’t be what it is without Aaron Burkhart, Lauryn Coombs, Rachel Gonsalves, Caroline Hansley, Brian Iezzi and Natalia Ospina.

As the university’s first Stewards, these students shaped the new sustainability ambassador program, which promotes sustainable practices through peer education, workshops, presentations and campus events.

“I love NC State and I want all students here to strive to be as sustainable as possible,” said Iezzi, a sophomore in textile engineering.

“I care about the environment as a whole and the impact humans make on it. Through lifestyle changes I believe we can lessen that and begin to curb climate change,” said Hansley, a junior from Hendersonville, N.C. “I think we can work together to create a more sustainable NC State.”

Sustainability has been a long-time passion for some Stewards and relatively new interest for others. It was just last year that Lauryn Coombs traveled to Belize and came back with a desire to live more sustainably.

“All of our decisions will impact the decisions and lives of future generations,” said Coombs, a sophomore environmental technology major from Pomfret, Md.  “[Being an NC State Steward] offers endless opportunities to pioneer change within our great university.”

While shaping the foundations of the Steward program, students like senior Natalia Ospina found an opportunity to live out her passion for social justice and food sustainability.

“What we do today, what we eat, what we use will have an impact on future generations. Therefore we need to learn how to become more sustainable to make sure that the impact we have on the future is a positive one,” she said.

Beginning in August 2013, the inaugural class of NC State Stewards will hit campus running with a vision of creating a more sustainable NC State. Stay updated on their progress at http://go.ncsu.edu/ncstatestewards.

As NC State students move out of residence halls for the summer, unwanted items are donated to local nonprofits through 13 campus donation sites.

As the semester at NC State winds down, students are packing up and giving back. From April 23 through May 12, more than 8,000 students living in university residence halls will be able to donate reusable items to local nonprofits through convenient donation sites on campus.

“When students move from campus, they often have more than they brought to campus,” said Analis Fulghum, manager of NC State’s Waste Reduction and Recycling. “Pack N Give provides an easy way for them to donate unwanted items they might have thrown away.”

In its third year, Pack N Give is a partnership between Waste Reduction and Recycling and University Housing to reduce waste sent to landfills and also benefit the community. Dorcas Ministries and The Green Chair Project are two local nonprofits that distribute the donations to individuals and families in need.

“These items don’t have to be thrown away. They have another life ahead of them in homes where they are needed,” said Jackie Craig, co-founder of The Green Chair Project. “Donations are put directly into the homes of people who are transitioning from homelessness or out of crisis.”

From futons and side tables to bedding and small appliances, student donations last spring totaled nearly 23,500 pounds of clothing, furniture, small appliances, non-perishable food and electronics.

“Pack N Give keeps tons from the landfill, but it also helps others,” said Susan Grant, director of University Housing. “Residents see the impact of their donations and have a deeper understanding of local needs and how, in this program, they can support others.”

Donations are accepted at any of the 13 donations sites, which are provided in partnership with Pack Rat. Large donation boxes are also available upon request from Waste Reduction and Recycling.

On April 22, NC State University was honored with the 2013 City of Raleigh Environmental Stewardship Award. More photos

On Earth Day, North Carolina State University received the City of Raleigh’s highest honor for sustainability, the Raleigh Environmental Stewardship Award.

At the 2013 Raleigh Environmental Awards on April 22, College of Natural Resources Dean Mary Watzin accepted the award, which is presented annually to a Raleigh individual or organization for leadership in sustainable development.

“This award is a great honor for NC State and the many people on campus working to make the university leaner, smarter and stronger through sustainable projects and programs,” said Tracy Dixon, director of the University Sustainability Office.

Other NC State individuals, projects and organizations receiving Raleigh Environmental Awards include:

• James B. Hunt Jr. Library, Green Design (Nonresidential) Award
• University Dining, Pioneering Efforts Award
• Artists’ Backyard, Natural Resource Conservation Award
• Sullivan Shops, Natural Resource Conservation Award
• Students Wei Wang and Robert Smith, Donna Jackson Trailblazer Award for environmental public service announcement

The university’s sustainability accomplishments have also been recently recognized by the Princeton Review, which included NC State in its 2013 Guide to 322 Green Colleges. This is the second year NC State has been selected as one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible schools.

As North Carolina’s largest four-year institution, NC State is committed to creating a sustainable campus for its more than 40,000 students, faculty and staff. The result has been a leaner, stronger and smarter university that better fulfills its mission while using fewer resources.

Adding to the 43 percent water  and 13 percent energy reductions of the last decade are the expected long-term savings of more than a million square feet of highly-efficient campus buildings and a new campus utility plant that reduces energy costs by $4 million each year. Nearly half of campus waste is diverted from landfills, and almost a third of food in campus dining halls comes from local sources.

While NC State researchers develop sustainable innovations, student projects include engineering electric cars or designing solutions to some of the globe’s largest health challenges. From academics to campus operations, stewardship and innovation have become university values that give students a competitive advantage as they enter the workforce.

Everyone eats, and NC State’s week of Earth Day events showed students, faculty and staff how to eat healthier, fresher and more sustainably.

From the Grow Your Wellness fair to a screening of the documentary, Fresh, this year’s Earth Day focused on “Barn to Brick: Sustainable Food and Agriculture at NC State.”

Planting Day at NC State’s Agroecology Education Farm will result in campus-grown food in campus dining halls for the first time.

The weeklong menu of Earth Day events started with an April 13 planting day at NC State’s Agroecology Education Farm, where about 100 students, faculty and staff planted several rows of seedlings. When harvested later in the summer, campus-grown produce will be served in University Dining halls for the first time.

“We know that it will be good stuff because we grew it,” said volunteer and mechanical engineering student Nathan Albertson, one of nearly 1,000 who signed an Earth Day pledge of support for more seasonal campus-grown food to be served in dining halls.

On April 18 as an expression of its ongoing commitment to provide more local food, University Dining hosted Farm Feast, an Earth Day local food picnic featuring a concert by Mandolin Orange and presentation of the university’s Green Brick Awards to student Carlos Vega, staff member Rick Gardner and faculty member Dr. Jonathan Casper.

The Reduce Your Waste Challenge showed Earth Day participants how to reduce their environmental waste and their own waistlines through Crossfit-style fitness activities.

In addition to celebrating sustainable actions of the NC State community, Earth Day was also about celebrating the planet, including an April 17 eco-festival where students competed for prizes, connected with environmental organizations, and learned more about why sustainable food matters.

“Local and sustainable food systems are more and more important as we address the impact food has on our bodies and the planet as well as the challenge of sustaining food supply for growing populations,” said Dr. Danesha Seth Carley, who coordinates the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences sustainability program and led this year’s Earth Day planning committee.

Growing populations and food supply needs are part of the challenge faced by international foresters, according to Frances Seymour, former director of Center for International Forestry Research, who spoke at the Earth Day Borlaug Lecture Series on April 16.

“People underestimate [forests’] value,” said Seymour, who described the benefits of forests on curbing climate change and providing food for local communities.

Hundreds of students signed a pledge of support for more campus-grown food.

Also at the lecture, NC State entomology professor Dr. Fred Gould was presented with the Borlaug Service to Society and the Environment Award.

Coordinated by the University Sustainability Office and numerous campus-wide partners, Earth Day is an annual week-long emphasis to educate the campus community on environmentally responsible and sustainable principles and practices.

More Earth Day photos

Left to right, Carlos Vega, Dr. Jonathan Casper and Rick Gardner are the 2013 recipients of NC State’s Green Brick Award.

Amid local food and music, three members of the NC State community were honored for outstanding contributions to campus sustainability.  On April 18 at Farm Feast, an Earth Day event sponsored by University Dining, Carlos Vega, Rick Gardner and Dr. Jonathan Casper received the annual Green Brick Awards from the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team.

The student recipient, Carlos Vega, is a junior economics major and residence advisor in the Honors Village, where he also leads the Honors Village Sustainability Committee. He helped organize Honors Village participation in Shack-A-Thon, which raised money for Habitat for Humanity, and has implemented a program called Quad Bikes, a pilot project for bike sharing on campus.

“His diligence to succeed has inspired his committee, the community and the student body to be sustainable.  Carlos has greatly impacted the State community,” wrote Brian Peters in his nomination of Vega.

The staff recipient, Rick Gardner, is NC State’s associate director of student leadership and engagement and serves as one of the advisers for the Union Activities Board (UAB). Rick has inspired student event planners to make events more sustainable through efforts such as composting and purchasing carbon offsets for large events.

“Thanks to Rick’s leadership, UAB is making less of an impact on the environment and more of an impact on the students,” wrote Kaitlyn Moran in her nomination of Gardner.

The faculty recipient, Dr. Jonathan Casper, is an assistant professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management. He organized a campus Committee on Sustainability in Athletics and was instrumental in facilitating NC State’s first green baseball and football games.

“Dr. Casper’s work is influencing the sport management curriculum at NC State and other universities,” said Dorothy Anderson in her nomination of Casper. “He is a leader in the way we think about, plan, manage, and educate students and professionals about sustainable practices in sport and athletic operations.”

Each winner received a recycled glass plaque and check for $300, which was presented by Jack Colby and Dr. Bill Winner, co-chairs of the Campus Environmental Sustainability Team.

On April 13, the vision of serving campus-grown food in NC State dining halls took root at the university’s Agroecology Education Farm, where dozens of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members planted seedlings to kick off a week of Earth Day activities focused on local, sustainable food.

“Today is a blank slate. You’re laying a foundation,” assistant professor Michelle Schroeder-Moreno told volunteers at the Planting My Roots event. “We are not only growing crops but also future food systems leaders.”

Schroeder-Moreno directs NC State’s Agroecology Education Farm, a six-acre tract of university land near Yates Mill County Park. Started in 2008, the farm picked up traction last year with the addition of on-site water access for irrigation. Agroecology students use the farm as hands-on learning in sustainable farming techniques.

With a vision to bring campus-grown food to campus dining halls, University Dining has partnered with the farm for several rows of crops that volunteers planted at the event. When harvested later in the summer, this produce grown by the Wolfpack, for the Wolfpack will be served in dining halls for the first time.

“We’re excited about this educational tool for our students to grow food and bring it back to campus,” said Keith Smith, University Dining’s director of board operations.

Students are also looking forward to campus-grown food.

“We know that it will be good stuff because we grew it,” said planting volunteer and mechanical engineering major Nathan Albertson.

The vision for campus-grown food is just one among many recent sustainability advances in University Dining, which this year increased its local food purchases to nearly 30 percent. In fall 2012 semester, an award-winning My Roots are at NC State project launched with a goal of increasing connections with local alumni farmers, suppliers and other agriculture specialists.

Throughout campus Earth Day activities April 13-18, students can sign a For the Farm pledge of support for more seasonal campus-grown food to be served in dining halls.

“This is a first step to making it a bigger thing,” said volunteer Mirna Dave, an international studies major. “It will help build momentum.”

More Photos from Planting My Roots

Three members of NC State’s Granular Systems team at the ACC Clean Energy Challenge.

On April 9, a team of NC State students made the final four in a competition that could change the way energy is produced, distributed and used in the United States. Though the NC State inventors and developers of Granular Systems didn’t win the $100,000 ACC Clean Energy Challenge, their selection as a finalist could signal another successful startup born among NC State students.

The Granular Systems team – John Crawford, Chet Helms, Kevin Cook, Dreier Carr, Brandon Long and Andy Borleske (adviser) – have developed an energy analysis system that helps small- to medium-sized industrial and manufacturing facilities lower energy usage, optimize operations and monitor equipment performance.

“Many [manufacturing facilities] don’t have resources or personnel to do this,” said Crawford, who was part of the student team that developed the initial concept in an engineering senior design class.

Though first “smart outlet” prototype was designed for residential use, the student team realized it had greater potential in the manufacturing sector, where North Carolina ranks fourth in the nation for total output. Equip these facilities with devices that provide real-time energy usage and over time companies can determine ways to run more efficiently and save money.

“It’s come a long way. We’re pretty proud,” said Crawford, now an NC State computer engineering graduate student.

Though great U.S. energy challenges remain – improving efficiency, decreasing emissions and reducing energy imports – funding for energy innovations is slowing, according to the Challenge’s keynote speaker Mark Johnson, who worked at NC State before becoming program director at Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy.

Citing the recent drop in funding for clean energy innovations, Johnson advised student teams to “get real or go home” when it comes to developing a clean energy business.  New business ideas must transform the market and “have a big impact,” Johnson said.

NC State’s Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Office of Technology Transfer hosted this year’s Challenge, which was judged by energy industry representatives.

This post is from Rachel Gonsalves, an intern in the University Sustainability Office and student coordinator of the NC State Stewards, a new student ambassador program accepting applications through Friday, April 5.

I am an NC State Steward because I am proud of my university and want to help make it even better.

The NC State Steward  program provides the opportunity for students like me to delve into the many facets of campus life, find ways to improve the community, and learn about sustainability. When mentioning sustainability, often your mind jumps to the environment; however NC State Stewards go beyond that by a balance of social, economic and environmental responsibility into their programming.

As a large research-based institution, NC State has opportunities that other universities do not. Our campus is already successful in many realms and as an NC State Steward I enjoy raising awareness about these initiatives and educating my peers about how to improve the world around them. As a Steward I have a lot of opportunity to pursue my own interests while leaving an impact on the campus.

Join me as an NC State Steward. There are just a few of us this semester, but I look forward to next year when the group will be much larger and even more innovative! Apply online by April 5.

This post is from Carla Davis, the University Sustainability Office’s communications coordinator.

For six months I’ve tried a smorgasbord of sustainable transit to, from and around NC State’s campus. My alternative transit experiment has included everything from riding the bus and carpooling to running and walking on sidewalks and greenways. I’ll admit that traveling this way can take more time, but I notice some key benefits: I’m healthier and so is my bank account with all the $3-plus per gallon gas I’m not buying. With NC State’s Commute Challenge starting today, it’s the perfect time to mix up your travel style. Here are five things I’ve learned about alternative commuting that might help you:

1. Select Sustainable Soles – Often times, I can walk to a meeting on campus quicker than it would take to drive and search for parking. But no one wants to walk if your feet hurt, so ditch the uncomfortable shoes and get to stepping. It’s healthier for your heart and gets you closer to the recommended 10,000 steps a day.
2. Get a GoPass – This $25 might be the best money I’ve spent in six months (and for students this pass is even cheaper –  it’s free). The GoPass provides unlimited bus rides for a year on CAT and Triangle Transit buses. An afternoon commute from campus nearly every day for six months and I estimate I’m paying just 20 cents (and dropping) every time I step on the bus.  It would cost me nearly that much in gas to drive my car out of my neighborhood.
3. Simplify with a Smartphone – Sometimes you need to hoof it to catch the Wolfline or other local/regional bus, and other times you can take your time. The Transloc smartphone app helps you know when to scurry and when you can slow down.
4. Sign up for WolfTrails – Some days you just need to drive to campus, and thanks to the Wolftrails program I have one free parking pass each month that I can use when I need my own set of wheels. To take away some of the anxiety of running out of passes too soon, Wolftrails users can purchase a limited amount of extra parking passes for just a couple bucks a day.
5. Cut the Carpool Chatter – Very few of us are at our social peak on the early morning drive into work. So, limit the chit chat to keep your carpool buddy sane and happy.

Understandably, everyone’s situation is different, so while you may want to ride the bus or carpool to campus, you might not live near convenient bus routes or coworkers that make it possible. But as NC State employees or students, we all have to get around campus from time to time, so give biking or walking or riding the Wolfline a try this month as the weather warms and spring blooms on campus.