The New School generates around two
and a half million pounds of waste each year. Forty-five percent of that waste
is directly diverted from a landfill through recycling and composting. Our
generation of waste contributes an additional 5 percent to the total carbon
emissions generated by the campus.
The university’s sustainability goals include
continually striving to improve waste disposal operations, reducing the overall
generation of waste, and increasing the proportion of waste that we recycle or
otherwise divert from a landfill. The New School was the sole college or
university participant in NYC’s Zero Waste Challenge — helping
to reduce waste while providing valuable data and feedback to the city.
Campus Waste Separation
Paper
and Cardboard (Recycling): clean paper,
paper bags, wrapping paper, magazines, newspapers, mail, and envelopes
Glass,
Plastic, Metal, and Cartons (Recycling): glass bottles,
juice boxes, metal cans, metal caps, rigid plastics, wire hangers
Landfill Waste: pens and markers, plastic bags, Styrofoam, non-compostable
food containers, wrappers, paper cups, and lids
In addition to food scraps, all
plates, cups, sushi containers, utensils, and straws provided by on-campus
dining are compostable. The New School offers compost receptacles in several
locations on campus, including the University Center and Lang Café in
Johnson/Kaplan Hall. You can also submit a work order to request a compost
pickup at a specific event. Collected compost is anaerobically digested at a
facility in Brooklyn to generate methane, which is used as an energy source. It
is then further processed into bio-solids.
Electronic waste
(e-waste) includes computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, phones, and
cameras. These devices often contain hazardous materials including mercury,
lead, and other heavy metals. To protect the environment, regulatory agencies
require that e-waste be recycled. The New School’s e-Stewards-certified recycler, 4th Bin, ensures that
waste is disposed of properly or donated when possible.
PERSONAL E-WASTE DISPOSAL
E-waste drives typically occur at the end of
the year during residence move-outs. During that time, bins are located in
dormitories for students and in the University Center for staff. Keep an eye
out for signs, or contact your building supervisor for details.
UNIVERSITY E-WASTE DISPOSAL
Step 1 (For waste that does not contain sensitive
data, proceed directly to step 2):
Data-containing waste such as internal and
external hard drives, mobile computing devices (tablets, phones, etc.) and
mobile storage devices (USB flash drives, SD cards, etc.) that have been used
to process or store New School information must be erased before they are
recycled. To do this, submit a request Be sure to
include the IT asset description and tag number(s) in the request for tracking
purposes. This will initiate a visit from IT services to remove the parts of
the e-waste that must be securely erased.
Step 2:
For the removal of any remaining non-data-sensitive
or cleared e-waste, submit a facilities work
order. If applicable, include the corresponding IT Central Support
Request number in your Facilities work order (from step
1, to prove that sensitive materials have been cleared). Print and affix
the Facilities work order and IT Central support request (if applicable) to the
e-waste. Facilities will not complete removal without proper identification.
Other Waste Reduction Tips and Facts
REUSABLE WATER BOTTLES
Bring your own water bottle to campus and fill
up for free at water bottle filling stations throughout campus. Bottled water
is expensive and wasteful — only one third of all bottles are recycled, and
they are derived from petroleum. Find water bottle filling station (PDF)
locations around campus.
TONER
Any office receiving a delivery from office
supply vendor W.B. Mason can give the delivery person used toner cartridges to
be recycled. Offices are encouraged to designate a central location to collect
old cartridges.
The larger toner cartridges that our network
printers (e.g., Konica) use come with mail-back labels. Please affix these
labels to the box the new toner cartridge came in and send to the Mailroom in Arnold
Hall.
PAPER
All office paper on campus is FSC-certified
and contains 100 percent post-consumer recycled content. Toilet paper is made
of 100 percent recycled material; paper towels are made of 70 percent recycled
material.
DINING
Forty-seven percent of the
university's food budget is spent on food grown and processed within 250 miles
of campus.
Dining uses biodegradable
(compostable) dishware, including take-out packaging, coffee cups, and
utensils.
Dining donates unused food to the NY Common
Pantry.
A discount is available in campus
cafés for using a reusable mug.
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