Spring Break
College to increase campus greening
Recycling already goes beyond paper, cardboard, aluminum, plastic, glass
By Suzanne Penna
in NewsIssue date: 5/7/09 Section: News
OCC is looking to step up its efforts to become a greener campus, according to Julius Raichle, manager of safety and environmental compliance. The campus already has several policies in place that reduce the harmful effects to the environment.
Recycling goes beyond the usual paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic. According to Raichle, the college also recycles fluorescent bulbs, ballasts, computers and other electronic equipment, oil, antifreeze, paint, batteries, copier inks and toners, tires and construction debris.
In addition, articles that may have some value, such as furniture, are sold through a public sale so they do not take up landfill space.
An initiative to order paper that has a substantial amount of recycled fiber has begun, Raichle said.
OCC has a hydrogen fuel cell that, through a noncombustion process, is able to produce 250,000 kilowatts of electrical power, according to Raichle. This also produces heat as a by-product that helps to heat several buildings, he said.
All underground fuel tanks have been
eliminated to remove the possibility of pollution through leakage. All boilers are now natural gas because it burns cleaner, according to Raichle.
In an effort to reduce the campus' impact on the local water supply, OCC has created an enhanced management protocol for stormwater. The Lot 1 addition has all of its water runoff recharged to the ground without use of catch basins or storm sewers. According to Raichle, there are underground cisterns installed behind the television studio and the Arts and Community Center that could provide for future irrigation use.
The Federal Clean Water Act through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System mandates nonpoint discharge be curbed. OCC is in the process of building a new washdown area for all college-owned vehicles. The washdown facility is similar to the one already built by the Ocean County government. Alan C. Avery, the administrator for Ocean County, said that while Ocean County does offer shared services through Schedule "C" agreements, any municipality or governmental agency with a large fleet might find it more cost effective to have its own washdown.
Recycling goes beyond the usual paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastic. According to Raichle, the college also recycles fluorescent bulbs, ballasts, computers and other electronic equipment, oil, antifreeze, paint, batteries, copier inks and toners, tires and construction debris.
In addition, articles that may have some value, such as furniture, are sold through a public sale so they do not take up landfill space.
An initiative to order paper that has a substantial amount of recycled fiber has begun, Raichle said.
OCC has a hydrogen fuel cell that, through a noncombustion process, is able to produce 250,000 kilowatts of electrical power, according to Raichle. This also produces heat as a by-product that helps to heat several buildings, he said.
All underground fuel tanks have been
eliminated to remove the possibility of pollution through leakage. All boilers are now natural gas because it burns cleaner, according to Raichle.
In an effort to reduce the campus' impact on the local water supply, OCC has created an enhanced management protocol for stormwater. The Lot 1 addition has all of its water runoff recharged to the ground without use of catch basins or storm sewers. According to Raichle, there are underground cisterns installed behind the television studio and the Arts and Community Center that could provide for future irrigation use.
The Federal Clean Water Act through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System mandates nonpoint discharge be curbed. OCC is in the process of building a new washdown area for all college-owned vehicles. The washdown facility is similar to the one already built by the Ocean County government. Alan C. Avery, the administrator for Ocean County, said that while Ocean County does offer shared services through Schedule "C" agreements, any municipality or governmental agency with a large fleet might find it more cost effective to have its own washdown.
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Mat board
posted 5/28/10 @ 3:27 PM EST
It's great that OCC is looking to adopt greener practices. Every school should have similar efforts.
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