Ways We are Making a Difference
Saint Andrew's School believes in a sustainable school design and operation that provides many benefits to students, staff, and the school community as a whole including conserving energy and water, promoting a healthy environment, and helping teach environmental responsibility.
The following are just some ways that our different departments are making a difference:
Administration
- Purchased 189,346 kWh of renewable energy credits, which will save up to 126,388 lbs of CO2 annually.
- Implemented recycling education in all three divisions for students and faculty via chapel presentation.
- Instituted a program for recycling toner cartridges.
- Placed paper recycling collection bins in Upper School administrative offices, workrooms, and classrooms.
Housekeeping
- Changed all daily cleaning chemicals, all floor care products (stripper/wax and carpet cleaners), all paper products (bathroom tissue and paper towels), and all hand soap to green seal certified or accepted products.
- Installed hand sanitizer dispensers around campus in needed locations: libraries, computer labs, dining halls, lounges, lobbies, kitchens, and break rooms.
- Initiated on-going training programs in green seal cleaning procedures; both in house and vender sponsored.
SAGE Dining Services
- Gone Trayless in the Upper School, which has eliminated food waste by 44%
- Disposes of food waste through a garbage disposal system, which has eliminated the use of 3,400 bags during the school year, which is about 20 trash bags a day.
- Removed styrofoam plates and cups from dining area.
- Instituted a recycling program for all cardboard, glass, plastic, and aluminum.
- Implemented a defrosting procedure that promotes water conservation.
- Purchased green chemicals for cleaning and sanitizing.
- Has planted 10 trees in honor of Saint Andrew's School in The Huron-Manistee National Forest
Operations/Physical Plant
- Expanded recycling program to capture all cardboard and paper recyclables. Increased Waste Management weekly collection service to two times per week.
- Purchased 20 large capacity recycling bins for collection of plastic, glass, and aluminum throughout campus.
- Implemented a program to replace incandescent/flourescent light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs.
....And did you know...
- Planting one tree eliminates 2000 lbs of CO2 per year.
- 25 billion disposable cups are thrown away each year, however, less than 20% are recycled.
- 17 million catalogs are printed each year, which destroys 62 million trees.
More information about Carbon Emmissions
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