Issue 30: News from UF Office of Sustainability

Orange and Blue Goes Green	E-newsletter, Issue #30 January 2010
In This Issue :: "Battle of the Halls" Kicks Off :: The Shower Coach Challenge: Can you take a 5-minute shower? :: Repurposing Goods With Asset Management :: UF To Represent U.S. In International Solar Decathlon :: GreenAnswers.com :: Announcements :: IFAS Extension Recognizes Green Businesses :: Green Team Elevates Dining Sustainability :: Sustainability Forum
Orange and Blue Goes Green is an e-newsletter from the University of Florida's Office of Sustainability. We aim to bring you all the latest and greatest in sustainability on campus and around town. The goal of sustainability is to meet today's needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The Office of Sustainability supports faculty, students, and staff in implementing more sustainable practices.

"Battle of the Halls" Kicks Off Eco-Challenge Runs Through February Residents looking to live more sustainably are in luck. The annual Battle of the Halls eco-challenge competition encourages residents to reduce resource consumption and compete for great prizes. The challenge aims to help students integrate sustainable practices into their daily lives and reduce their environmental impact. Watch for bulletin boards and activities around waste reduction, water and energy conservation developed by Eco-Reps. The Sustainability Hut will also be tabling with fun, interactive activities at housing locations throughout January and February. Residents who are "caught green handed" doing environmentally conscious activities will be eligible for prizes. Read more about the Eco-Challenge... Repurposing Goods With Asset Management Program Helps Reduce Costs and Divert Waste Asset Management programs and tools encourage reuse of university property- reducing cost and the environmental impact of waste. MyAssets makes it easier than ever to manage university property. MyAssets is an online tool that greatly speeds up managing asset transactions such as updating property information, transferring property and reporting of surveys. It also gives departments a work list to help manage their departmental assets and be more proactive. Most of these transactions are completed online, eliminating the need to print copies. The UF Surplus Warehouse offers goods and services to the university and the public. The Surplus Warehouse web site has a link for available property listed by department, so that offices can obtain assets directly from one another. Contact information for the department and person listing the item is available. Additionally, the Surplus Warehouse hosts a Swap Meet website for campus departments to obtain office supplies from other departments instead of purchasing them new. Read more about Asset Management... GreenAnswers.com "Ask, Answer, Learn" Resource For interesting Q&A's, current environmental news or engaging blog posts, GreenAnswers.com, an interactive resource, is a convenient tool for insight on all things green. Topic sections cover everything from Climate Science and Policy to Media and Entertainment, from Waste and Recycling to Products and Shopping, from Transportation, Agriculture and Wildlife to Ideology, Education and Activitism. Go ahead, ask... Announcements News, events, and opportunities * January 27 - Men's Basketball Green Game, 7 PM, O'Connell Center * January 25 - 31 - SolarCycle Week, The Smathers Libraries are hosting the SolarCyclists at UF to share their journey and raise awareness of solar energy and cycling. For more information on events, visit the Smathers Libraries web site. * January 30 - 11th Annual Great Air Potato Roundup, Annual event to control invasive species * January - February - UF's Eco Challenge, a friendly contest with prizes to see which residence hall can reduce their energy consumption and incorporate sustainability into their lifestyles. * February 4 - Women's Basketball Green Game, 7 PM, O'Connell Center * February 19 - Gymnastics Green Meet, 7 PM, O'Connell Center * February 22 - Green Your Office Training, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM, UF Human Resources Bldg, Room 120 * February 25 - 27 - 16th Annual Public Interest Environmental Conference, 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM, UF Levin College of Law More events and happenings...

The Shower Coach Challenge: Can you take a 5-minute shower? Shower Timer Pilot Program a Success In conjunction with the annual Eco-Challenge, the Department of Housing and Residence Education Green Team is encouraging residents to take shorter, cooler showers. Residents of the Yulee Area residence hall piloted shower timers in the fall semester. Residents responded positively to the shower timers-some say it helps them keep track of time when they are running late for class! Read more about Water Conservation... UF To Represent U.S. In International Solar Decathlon One of Two U.S. Universities Participating Two years of planning, designing and building will end with the final phase of competition for the Solar Decathlon Europe in Madrid, Spain this summer. The UF Solar Decathlon Team will be one of only two U.S. universities in the competition. For the decathlon, 19 university teams from around the world compete against each other to build the best 797-square-foot modular sustainable home, according to criteria in 10 different areas. Read more about the Solar Decathlon... IFAS Extension Recognizes Green Businesses Program open to all Pinellas County Businesses The Green Business Partnership (GBP) is a voluntary assessment that recognizes businesses, business organizations, and local governments for their environmental stewardship and sustainable practices. Offered through the University of Florida/IFAS Pinellas County Extension, it encourages conservation of resources, waste reduction, energy conservation and cost savings. Read more about Green Business Partnership... Green Team Elevates Dining Sustainability Cooperation Between Locations Leads to Positive Changes In an effort to further advance their sustainability program, Gator Dining Services has created an internal network of Green Team captains across campus dining locations. Charged with overseeing the implementation of sustainability programs and policies, captains are helping to elevate sustainability in all aspects of their operations. Read more about Green Team's success... Sustainability Forum Send us your sustainability questions Q: How is electronic waste, or "e-waste," handled at UF? A: UF actively seeks to reduce campus generation of e-waste through preventative maintenance on existing equipment and recirculation of used equipment via the "Surplus Property" program website. However, once electronic equipment has reached the end of its useful life, proper disposal is very important due to the toxic constituents of many of these products. Asset Management handles disposal of all electronic waste regardless of the size or cost of the item (i.e. , even smaller items such as jump drives and phones). For an extensive list of electronic items recycled by the university, visit UF's Asset Management website. Once items have been collected and all efforts to reuse them have been exhausted, the university contracts with Creative Recycling to assure that they are diverted from the waste stream and properly recycled. Read more frequently asked questions...

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." -Native American Proverb University of Florida Office of Sustainability email: info@sustainability.ufl.edu phone: 352.392.7578 web: http://www.sustainable.ufl.edu