The results are in for three Carolina buildings competing in the EPA’s 2012 ENERGY STAR “Battle of the Buildings,” a national building competition to improve energy efficiency, lower utility costs, and protect health and the environment. The NC Area Health Education Center reduced its energy use by more than 20 percent, placing 11th overall among 3,000 competitors. Tarrson Hall and Neurosciences Building were formally recognized for placing in the top 10 percent in energy reductions. Together, competitors have prevented nearly 290,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saved more than $50 million on utility bills. Read more »

Carolina’s food waste composting program stands out as a regional and national leader among North American colleges and universities competing in the annual RecycleMania competition. UNC’s composting program ranked 1st in the ACC conference, 2nd in North Carolina (behind UNC-Asheville), 8th by campus population, and 37th overall in the 2013 RecycleMania Food Waste category. Carolina Dining Services collects food scraps for composting in Rams Head and Lenoir Dining Halls, the Beach Café, Alpine Bagel Café, Wendy’s, and the Friday Center. The Carolina Green Events program also collects compostables from special events and three event locations on campus. Read more »

Morrison Residence Hall recently represented Carolina in LUCID’s Campus Conservation Nationals (CCN), the largest nationwide electricity and water reduction competition on college and university campuses. Morrison Residence Hall reduced electricity consumption by 18.6 percent, or 5,772 kWh, and placed in the top five schools with the greatest average percent reduction in electricity. Savings ranged from 16-19 percent reductions across all participating buildings. The Sustainability Living-Learning Community also participated in the competition and submitted a video to increase conservation awareness, encourage student behavior change, and document students taking positive actions on campus. Over 300,000 students competed in CCN, saving over 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 1.6 million gallons of water. Read more »

As you pack for moving out of a residence hall or apartment, you may discover items you don’t want or need to take with you. Consider donating used, but still useful, items to local non-profits. Items deposited in residence hall donation stations will be used by TROSA in its substance abuse recovery programs. Sell your books to Student Stores for cash so that others can reuse them. Old or broken electronics and batteries will be recycled by American Greenz. Check out the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling’s “zero-waste” move-out guide for more information. Off-campus students can drop off many of these items and more at the Orange County Solid Waste Recycling Center on Eubanks Road, or take them to the Off-Campus Student Move-out ReUse Rodeo until May 10 at the Hargrave’s Center Mitchell Lane parking lot in Chapel Hill. Donate to support local non-profits, reduce your carbon footprint, strengthen the reuse economy, and preserve resources.

The Bike Share Task Force launched the University’s first bicycle share program, Tar Heel Bikes, last August. Tar Heel Bikes provides Kona AfricaBikes for short-term loan to Hinton James, Ehringhaus, and Craige residence hall communities. From August 27 through January 31, Tar Heel Bikes recorded 3400 check-outs, which demonstrates an enthusiastic response to the bike share program. The program encourages bicycle transportation as a cleaner, healthier, and more cost-effective alternative to motor vehicles. Read more »