It's Not Easy Being Green, or Is It?

By Alyssa Wiley

You wake up and sleepily sit down at your kitchen table to eat some breakfast. You realize that you’ve run out of clean socks and toss a load of laundry in the washer before class. Then, you dash across the promenade and grab a water bottle from the kiosk.
Already, you have encountered five or more green products, which are the result of some of High Point University’s green initiatives.

The furniture at the University Center (i.e. your kitchen table), for example, is made of bamboo, a rapidly renewable resource. Secondly, most of the old washers and dryers in the residence halls were recently replaced with new more energy efficient washers and dryers; and the Primo water bottles being handed out from the kiosk are made of bio-resin or plants, instead of crude oil, and will bio-degrade in 90 days.

So, there’s three. Now, what are the other two?

The napkin that you may have picked up from the kiosk with your water is made of recycled materials. And, finally, there are several recycling cans around campus, where you, hopefully, disposed of your bottle, when you were finished.

HPU is making great strides to becoming a greener and more environmentally friendly campus.
The university is finding ways to make everything from the kind of oil they use in the cafeteria to forms of transportation, such as security’s T3’s, more green.

“It’s exciting how far we’ve come, since I came here…as far as our concern in going green,” says Spencer Hatcher, a senior.

The GreenTeam

High Point University has always been purple, but how long has it been green? For longer than you might guess.

According to David Bryden, the head of HPU’s Green Team, the first green initiative began in the 1970s.

Back then, you couldn’t stop printing a document once it had started. So, the library began the “white paper service” to recycle unwanted paper.

The second green initiative was the recycling bins, suggested by Gart Evans, former head of security.

Now, says David, “They’re taking out a phenomenal amount of recycling each week [from the University].”

The Green Team, which is made up of faculty members, such as Marty Bell, administrators, like Rodger Clodfelter, Director of Wow, and Pete Mendale of dining services, has lobbied for many of the more recent initiatives.

Among the most notable ones are motion-censored lights in the restrooms, which turn on only when someone comes in, toilets with controlled water-flow, and retention gardens, which are located behind the Village and in the parking lot across from the fine arts building.

What’s a retention garden, you might ask?

According to David, a bio-retention garden, “Catches all the nasty garbage [from near by parking lots].”

With all the green initiatives taking place on campus, HPU takes some of the guesswork out of being green for you. But, how can become green on your own?

Some Tips:

Going green doesn’t mean you have to wear clothes made entirely out of hemp and drive a hybrid, not that there’s anything wrong with the people that choose to do this, but going green doesn’t have to be that extreme.

There are a few easy tips that can really make a huge difference in reducing the size of your carbon footprint.

Tip #1: Invest in a water filter/purifier.

Although most tap water in America is perfectly fine to drink, it can taste vaguely like metal and makes some people uneasy. So, most people prefer purified water. However, buying bottled water uses great quantities of plastic, which is not bio-degradable.

Therefore, getting a water filter is a great alternative. Plus, it will save you money (and who doesn’t like that?). Sure, it may be a little more of an investment up front, but in the end it will coast less than buying dozens and dozens of water bottles; and, of course, it’s more green.

If you’re concerned, though, about having something more portable, use a Nalgene, or some sort of reusable water bottle, that you can use to carry around through the day or when you exercise.

Tip #2: Recycle

It may seem odd that recycling is tip #2, but the best way to be green is to find a way where you don’t even need to recycle in the first place.

But, even if you don’t use water bottles, it is almost inevitable that some kind of plastic bottle will make its way into your fridge, whether it be a milk carton, or a liter of soda. So, recycle them.

There are recycling cans in almost every HPU dorm or apartment, and, now, there are also several recycling dumpsters too (painted bright green, so you can’t miss them).

Tip #3: Use a reusable shopping bag

Paper or plastic? The best answer is “neither.” If you do a good deal of grocery shopping, the best way to go is a reusable shopping bag. While paper bags are often thought to be a better alternative to plastic, more energy actually goes into manufacturing a paper bag than a plastic one.

Are We Green Enough?

No.

At least, that’s what David and Spencer would say.

While HPU is taking some steps, more involvement from students could really reduce the University’s carbon foot-print.

“I think there needs to be more awareness,” says David.

Spencer agrees, “They could publicize the things that they do have…and actively

participate in the ones that are applicable.”

HPU, however, is planning for a greener future. They are thinking about participating in RecycleMania this year, a recycling competition with other Universities.

In addition, according to Rodger Clodfelter, the university is investigating green roofs and solar energy. As well as considering having a compost pile somewhere; and, they are trying to implement green construction and building methods.

They plan to build the Greek Village, for instance, in a “natural area” that won’t disturb water flow.

“I think it’s great that we’re starting somewhere,” says Spencer, “but I think there’s always work to be done in terms of being environmentally friendly. This is all that we have. This is the only world we get and if we don’t take care of it there won’t be any resources for us to use at some point.”


To see what's green on HPU's campus, visit my video on Youtube

Sources/Links:
10 Myths About Living Green
The Green Guide
Myth Buster's Quizzes
UK Tests Dirty Diaper Recycling