Duke

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne and his wife, Dianna Cohen, left a lasting impression on Provost Peter Lange while on campus recently to accept the 2010 Duke LEAF Award for Lifetime Environmental Achievement in the Fine Arts.

After hearing Browne speak about the importance of living sustainably, Lange said he was inspired to banish plastic water bottles from the administrative offices on the second floor of the Allen Building.

“We had a staff meeting the Monday after their visit and I told everyone we’re going to get rid of plastic bottles and exclusively use a cooler and paper cups,” Lange said. “There are a lot of things you know you should do but never get around to it, so I figured why not start now?”

In addition to cutting out waste, the sustainable change will turn into big savings for the second floor of the building. By switching from plastic bottles to a cooler and paper cups, annual drinking water costs are cut by $1,700 – almost 80 percent. Not only that, but many employees have purchased water bottles and mugs to use instead of paper cups, cutting out even more waste.

“All these bottles were piling up in the recycling bin week after week,” said Robin Geller, an administrative assistant for the Provost Office. “It really makes you aware of all the excess waste you’re creating.”

Other members of the Duke community can follow in those footsteps during this month’s Green Devil Challenge, which calls for students, faculty and staff to reduce waste and reuse or recycle items. Some small changes can add up on campus, where about 10,000 tons of waste are collected every year – more than the combined weight of a fleet of 160 military tanks.

Efforts during the first week of the May have already shown significant change in behaviors with recycled beverage containers increasing more than 90 percent, from 2.19 tons last year to 4.2 tons this year. Recycled cardboard has also increased by more than 23 percent compared to last year.

“We don’t have to throw away as much waste as we do every day,” said Tavey Capps, director of Sustainable Duke. “Every person can help by making changes like switching to a reusable water bottle or e-mailing documents to co-workers instead of printing them out.”

That’s why Lange hopes his small change will spur other sustainable efforts throughout Duke.

“There’s such a tremendous amount of waste we can avoid or recycle,” he said. “It’s not very hard to do once you stop and think about it.”

Take the pledge to cut back on waste.

Where Can You Donate?

• All Duke property (electronics, furniture, etc) must be recycled through the Duke Surplus Program. Visit procurement.duke.edu and click the red surplus button to schedule a pick-up of items at your office.
• Smaller office items like binders, notebooks and pens, can be recycled through the Duke Free Store. Contact dukerecycles@duke.edu to schedule a time to drop off items.
• Donate personal electronics at locations in Durham, Wake, and Orange counties.
• Bring any odd items that you aren't sure how to recycle to The Scrap Exchange in Durham.
• Donate unwanted household items and clothes to the Duke Hospital Auxiliary’s Nearly New Shoppe to benefit scholarships for medical students.