03/20/2009
The Auxiliary Services Corporation (ASC) of SUNY Cortland has taken many steps on campus and in the community to preserve Earth's nonrenewable, natural resources.
ASC is a campus based, not-for-profit organization that provides dining, vending, campus stores, identification cards and other essential services to the College.
Director of Dining Services William McNamara, who joined the College five years ago, has over seen many of the changes ASC has made to improve sustainability, which aims to preserve the Earth for future generations by using alternative sources of transportation, energy consumption and diet.
"The reason for these changes is because it is good for the environment," McNamara said. "It is a new way of life we have to face. It is difficult to change our ways, but for us to have a future we must start to change the products we use currently. We are taking steps little by little to transition students and faculty into a new way of sustainable living."
During the 2008-09 fiscal year, the Dunkin' Donuts location at the College eliminated its use of foam plastic cups for their beverages, opting for their biodegradable counterparts, paper products.
"We are the only Dunkin' Donuts that has done this," to his knowledge, McNamara said. "We spoke with the Dunkin' Donuts Corporation and they were willing to make the change for us. It is a bit of a trade-off for the consumers. The smalls are a bit smaller now, yet the mediums are a bit bigger."
Throughout the dining services at the College, more fountain beverages are being served, leading to a 35 percent reduction in the sale of bottled beverages.
"Although bottled beverages are recyclable, the energy used to produce them is greater than producing the paper cups used for fountain beverages," McNamara notes. "Also, not everyone recycles their bottles and thus they end up in landfills where they do not break down."
At the various ASC locations, the hours of service have changed to reduce energy use during low customer traffic periods.
I met with a student dining committee to discuss a change in hours of operation for the 12 different dining facilities on campus," McNamara said. "We were able to reduce the overall hours by 50 a week. This reduces the time that equipment is being run thus reducing its energy output. Lights are also on for shorter time periods, and it has saved the College on labor costs, helping fund the new renovations of Neubig Dining Hall. We are presently looking at the best hours to accommodate students for next year."
ASC managers also try to buy as many products as possible locally, McNamara noted. This includes the food consumed, the coffee that energizes the students and faculty throughout the year and the linens used on table tops. Using local companies reduces the amount of gasoline consumed and the pollution released by importing from businesses that are further away.
The College's two main distributors are Maines in Binghamton, N.Y., and F & T Distributing in Ithaca, N.Y.
"By using these two regionally close companies, we primarily have about five shipments per week come to the College," McNamara said. "If we had more distributors with fewer products each this would increase the amount of trucks used in transportation, thus increase gasoline use and pollution."
Neubig Dining Hall was recently revamped with new features that included replacing a 50-year-old dish washer with an energy-efficient, low water use unit two years ago.
"The old machine had been in use since the 1960s," McNamara commented. "It leaked water, wasting more than it needed. Dish washers today are more efficient than the older models, so updating this machine helps out with Neubig Dining Hall's water use."
For more information, please contact William McNamara at (607) 753-2424 or at william.mcnamara@cortland.edu. You can also visit the College Web site at http://www.cortlandasc.com/general/sustainability.cfm for more information about ASC's sustainability efforts.