Campus Sustianability Month

Throughout the entire month of October we are celebrating what Ithaca Dining Services is doing to become more sustainable campus-wide. Yesterday, October 20th, we displayed to students all of our initiatives and had interested students sign up for a tour of the dining facilities on campus. The tour will act to educate students on all of the new energy and water saving equipment and appliances installed since the completion of the energy audit in January 2009.

Raffle Winners Are:
Campus Sustainability Day: Amanda Sirois
Fair Trade Month: Marissa Fulton

Below is a list of the events we will be participating in throughout October on behalf of Campus Sustainability Month.

Today:
Fair Trade Month Celebration in Towers during lunch- students recieved a free reusable mug and learned about Fair Trade and where certified products are on campus as well

October 26th:
Coffee and Chocolate tasting in tc lounge: Taste test Seattle's Best Fair Trade coffee

October 28th:
1) ICES Recycled Halloween Costume Contest and Concert: Join us for organic and local snacks during this event sponsored by the Environmental Studies Club
2) Pumpkin Carving: Come to late night in Towers and enjoy baked pumpkin seeds from the pumpkins you carve

We hope to see you there!

If you see us, stop by!

Fair Trade Month Celebration in Towers Coming Soon!

 

Look for this label if you would like to purchase Fair Trade products.



The Fair Trade Month Celebration in Towers on October 21st is one of the ways we educate the Ithaca College Community on Ithaca Dining Services commitment to supporting ethical businesses. A Fair Trade certification ensures that workers that harvest coffee, for example, have been paid a fair wage for their labor. All of the coffee available on campus is Fair Trade Certified, even the new Seattle's Best Coffee served at tc lounge. Even better, the Green Mountain coffee offered in all resident dining locations is organic! Come to the celebration during lunch and let us reward you for your ethical purchasing efforts by entering into a raffle. The prize package you have a chance to win will include a reusable water bottle, mug, and bag, a self-powered flashlight, and a grow-your-own basil plant kit, bamboo kitchen utensils, and 100% recycled notebook and pen! If you cannot make it to this event, join us on October 26th to taste Seattle's Best Fairtrade Coffee at tc lounge and another chance to win prizes!



 

Come to the event and enter to win this environmentally friendly prize package!



Sustainability at the tc lounge

The tc lounge had its Grand Opening Celebration on Tuesday, September 28th. Sofia and I were happy to celebrate the opening and all of the measures the tc lounge has taken toward sustainability. During the lounge's makeover, LED lights replaced the original CFL and incandescent light bulbs, saving energy during it's late hours. Every menu item is served on reusable dishware, brought out by the tc lounge staff. Thus, reducing the need for trays. Using trays wastes more water in the cleaning process. Furthermore, waste and costs are reduced significantly by eliminating the need to purchase and dispose of disposable plates, utensils, etc.
 If you want to take some coffee to go, you can bring your own reusable mug, or purchase one from the Seattle's Best "I save trees" program. If you purchase a Seattle's Best Tumbler from the tc lounge, you get coffee refills for only $.99! All of the regular coffee, tea, and chocolate bars sold are Fair Trade and Organic certified. This insures that the money you spend gives producers, like small farm owners, a living wage. Also available is agave nectar for sweetening your drinks, a healthy and sustainable alternative than traditional bleached sugar.

The tc lounge decorated for the Grand Opening


If you have any sustainable ideas that the tc lounge could implement, or just general feedback on our newest retail location, feel free to contact us, as with any ideas or comments at ecodining@ithaca.edu!


 If you want more information, or to see pictures from the Grand Opening, follow the links below.

The Ithaca EcoDump Article

Fuse Magazine Pictures

Pictures from ICDining Facebook

The Ithacan Audio Slideshow

Did you know about composting?

    

           Ithaca College composts about 3,000 lbs of material a day!      

      

Weigh the waste event 2009:
Results: 2.7 pounds per person

      Composting is the aerobic decomposition of organic matter. Ithaca Dining Services places food scraps and other compostable items into red bins in each dining hall kitchen as well as labeled bins in Campus Center food court and Lavincita.  

History

Ithaca Dining Services began composting its foodscraps in January of 1993. Food-scrap composting was instituted as a solid waste management strategy that would reduce the cost of land filling. An added benefit is the production of a small amount of high quality humus, an excellent soil amendment. 

Until March of 2007, Ithaca did its composting on sight; however, as composting caught on, and the college started composting items beyond foodscraps, there was no longer adequate space on campus.  Currently, foodscraps are taken to Cayuga Compost in Trumansburg.

The compostable materials are placed in large piles at Cayuga compost where they control decomposition of the material. By adding sawdust to wet materials and adding already composted soil with microorganisms that help perform decompostiion, the process is generally faster than in nature.  It also produces a rich soil that is used for some landscaping on campus and around Ithaca.

What is compostable?

PLA cups

Food scraps as well as any disposable plates, napkins, basket liners, Green Mountain or Starbucks coffee cups.

Dining Services uses corn based polyactic acid disposable forks, knives and spoons as well as packaging for salads, sandwiches, and desserts, making these items all compostable.

Why Compost?

Its simple, it requires little equipment or training.  The process is natural- decomposition is an essential part of life on earth.  It frees up space in landfills and costs very little. Ithaca pays for the composting to be done offsite, but the cost is very little since it is local and Ithaca mostly pays for transportation.  Compared to the price of the garbage service, it significantly less.