Current Activities
Friends of Switchie
Friends of Switchie support the Switch Your Thinking energy
conservation campaign by volunteering to turn off lights, copy
machines, window AC units, and other office electronics at the
end of each day. The goal of the Friends of Switchie program is
to encourage UT Knoxville faculty and staff to serve as
environmental leaders in their workplace. For more information
and to sign up for the Friends of Switchie program email
switchie@utk.edu or become a fan of Switchie on Facebook. We
would love to have you as a Friend of Switchie!
RecycleMania
Each year, UT Knoxville competes in RecycleMania, a national
competition designed to promote recycling and waste reduction in
higher education. Staff and volunteers with Make Orange Green
and the campus recycling program track the weight of recyclables
and trash generated during the 10-week long competition
During this year’s competition, the campus recycling program
took on the University of Florida in an effort to recycle more
than the Gators. Although we did not out-recycle the Gators this
year, the university’s cumulative recycling total increased by
7,476 pounds compared to 2009.
In addition, faculty, staff and students demonstrated their
support for RecycleMania by participating in promotional events
like Recyclympics and the Paper Purge Party.
Recyclympics
In support of RecycleMania, students participated in some tough
competition at this year’s Recyclympics. Students competed in
recycling-themed games such as Phone Book Shot Put and the
Recycling Obstacle Course in order to win points for their team.
Keep an eye out next year and compete like a "recyclemaniac."
Paper Purge Party
Faculty and staff pitched in to help UT Knoxville out during
RecycleMania 2010 by getting rid of office paper clutter. During
the week of March 22-26, 2010, volunteers went around to various
buildings on campus and collected paper, phone books, old
binders, and other recyclable paper products. The total
collected was 26,220 pounds of non-confidential paper products.
This more than doubled UT Knoxville’s pound per person average
in the last week of the competition. Let’s pitch in to win, and
beat Florida next year!
Eco-Vols
Students participating as a Eco-Vol serve as environmental
leaders within their resident halls. They promote recycling and
energy conservation with annual contests such as the POWER
challenge and RecycleMania. Eco-Vols storm the halls collecting
recyclables at every door in the Hall Storm. In addition, Eco-Vols paint the UT Rock to promote Make Orange Green events
and help out with the annual Light Bulb Exchange where students can
bring in their old light bulbs for energy efficient
alternatives. Serve as a leader and be an Eco-Vol. For more
information, email
ecovols@utk.edu.
Green Dining
As part of its
Green StakesTM
program, the corporation ARAMARK, which manages UT Volunteer Dining, have
committed to implementing the following sustainable practices
across all of its operations by 2010:
* Implement an Energy and Water Conservation program
* Purchase only paper products made with recycled content
* Utilize daily green cleaning products at all locations
* Divert 100 percent of fryer oil waste
* Increase sustainable food offerings served by at least 5
percent per year
At the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, ARAMARK has already
adopted a number of
sustainability initiatives.
