Carleton focuses foremost on reducing the amount of waste that our campus produces, both through official campus operations, and from day-to-day faculty, staff, and student habits.  Some waste is unavoidable and Carleton has pursued both simple and innovative ways to re-use, recycle, and compost everything possible.

Waste Reduction

Paper Reduction

• Duplex printing: ITS has set every lab printer on campus to automatically print duplex (some office printers still print one-sided), which effectively halves the number of printed pages.
• Go-Print Printer Program:  Printing remains free and unlimited at Carleton, but all print jobs from labs must be affirmed and authorized with a Carleton ID card.  This process eliminates accidental print jobs and unneeded duplicates.  It goes without saying printing now requires a little more motivation as well.  Go-Print reduced printer page use by ~30%.
• Paperless Transactions:  Most offices on campus transfer and complete as much paperwork online as possible.  Examples include:
  • Human Resources
  • Business Office: Online time sheets for all campus employees/student workers.
  • Facilities/Custodial Department: Online work orders.
  • Admissions:  Nearly all New Student mailings in 2008 were done via email.
  • Registrar's Office: Online registration since at least 2003

Food Waste Reduction

• Student group Food Truth conducts educational tabling in both Dining Halls by collecting and weighing all food waste from one meal.  They also sponsor a "Clean Plate Club" for those who bring no waste at all.
• Members from student groups SOPE (Students Organized for the Protection of the Environment) and Food Truth are working to eliminate trays in Carleton Dining Halls, an action that has significantly reduced waste at other schools.
  
  

Re-use/Recycle

One-Stream. Carleton no offers One-Stream Recycling to make it easier to recycle and reduce the chance of bin contamination.  One-stream recylcing bins (along with garbage bins) are located on virtually every floor of every building on campus, and in most office and classrooms as well.  All plastic types from #1-7 are now accepted, and all are collected from the same bins, reducing any need for sorting.  Recyclables are sorted at Recycling Facilities.

Composting.  Beginning in Fall 2008 Carleton has composting bins on every floor of every dorm on campus.  The bins are monitored by the custodial staff.  as of 2007 all food waste from both Dining Halls has been composted at a nearby composting facility.  In addition Carleton provides a system of yellow composting bins (location at college-owned houses) in Northfield for those students living off campus.  At the beginning of the year student groups distribute rolls of composting bags to off-campus residents, who can dispose of the bags in any of the off-campus bins.

Compostable Silverware.  As of Spring 2007 Carleton uses only compostable silverware at the campus cafe and at all catered events (such as graduation, outdoor meals, and reunion).  The silverware is corn and potato based and is transported to a nearby composting facility, where it breaks down within 2 or so months.

Arb Waste Recycled.  One of the most rewarding projects under way at Carleton is the restoration of native ecosystems in the Carleton arboretum, a process that requires the intensive removal of huge amounts of buckthorn, honeysuckle, and other woody invasive nonnatives.  Historically this organic material was disposed of by burning, but in the Fall of 2008 the Arboretum contracted with a Twin Cities based company, and wood waste is now hauled away and used as fuel.

End of the Year Yard Sale.  One of the unavoidable truths in the universe is that college students bring too much stuff to college, and then don't give themselves enough time to pack it up when they leave.  If anyone has ever doubted the amount of waste produced by students at the end of a Carleton term, the proof now lies every year in West Gym, where unwanted student items are collected for a yard sale that covers the floor wall to wall.  All of this is now saved from the landfill and sold to Northfield families.

Battery Bins in Sayles.  Carleton offers on-campus recycling bins specifically for the disposal of batteries.

Yellow/White Bikes Club. The Yellow Bikes Club has been salvaging abandoned student bikes and making them serviceable again.  Any bike spray-painted yellow are free to be ridden anywhere on Carleton's campus.  In recent years the club has also begun creating "white bikes," largely in response to student abuse of the yellow bikes.  White bikes are free to students to use for one term with a deposit (all white bikes come with a lock).

Recyclable Carpeting.  Carleton uses as many recycled and recyclable materials as possible in all campus building renovation and construction.  As of 2006 all new campus carpeting is recycled and recyclable.  (For more details see Building Upgrades of Initiatives Page).