12 noon

Butler/Wu, Private Dining Room

Committee Attendees: Michael McKay, Chair; Marissa Baskett, Joe G. Conley, Andy Dobson, Janet Gruschow, Robin Izzo, Bill Jordan, Cathy Kunkel, Stu Orefice, Barclay Satterfield, Leila Shahbender, Don Weston, David Wilcove

Other Attendees: Jon Baer, Mary Banfield, Alex Barron, Rick Curtis, Chad Klaus, Meg Messina, Lisa Ridolfi, Nathan Gregory, Skip Plank, Steven Ellwood, Tali Malot, Steve Shultz

Mike McKay opened the meeting and asked everyone to introduce themselves.

• Recycling, Overview and Update: Jon Baer shared data on the recycling efforts on campus with a focus on controllable recycling (i.e. food waste, cans and bottles) noting that there were upward spikes during the 4Q of the year which are a direct result of move-out. Move-out adds 200 tons of extra general refuse. Jon noted that this year there would be efforts made to encourage students to begin recycling earlier than normal, hopefully reducing the additional tonnage resulting from move-out. Other suggestions included disposing of the additional tonnage at events such as Communiversity, summer fair, Sale4Charity and perhaps offering a financial incentive to those disposing of recyclables earlier than at move-out.
• Recycling Competition: Tali Malott ’06 introduced a recycling competition, initiated by Ohio University, which is currently in progress and involves 17 different universities nation wide, including Harvard and Dartmouth. The competition pits university against university to determine which institution is recycling the most. Tali suggested that this is something which Princeton could participate in, the motivation being the competition. Tali will discuss the concept with Greening Princeton and Jon Baer to determine what the next steps might be.
• Recycled Paper Purchases, Memo to the Provost: Mike McKay distributed copies of the draft memo to the Provost on recycled paper purchases, requesting that committee members review it and forward any changes/edits/additions to Mary Banfield electronically. The committee agreed that the memo would be forwarded to the Provost without an additional review by the committee.
• Summer Internships: Janet Gruschow reported that PEI will support an intern this summer. Mike McKay added that Facilities will help support an intern this summer and he would like to see the intern pick up where Hallet (current intern) leaves off. Janet will send Mary Banfield information on the intern opportunity and Mary will coordinate with the Housing office to secure a room for the intern.
• April Earth Day Events: Marisa Baskett noted the four subgroups for discussion: Energy, Dining, Purchasing, and Outreach. May talked about Outreach programs: publicizing events, student and faculty feedback, website, environmental clearinghouse, ecco reps in each college/hallway (parallel to RA program), information in the admissions brochure, staff initiatives, new staff and student training session, alumni support, and publicity. Earth Week/Day Events: Renewal Energy Panel, environmental job fair, vegetarian cooking class, animal rehab, PEOC table at Frist, possible film fest. Rick Curtis suggested trip leaders for Outdoor Action could be schooled to include discussing environmental efforts on campus during the OA trips. It was suggested to feature the efforts in the PWB. Steve Shultz recommended the efforts be grouped under the umbrella of a bigger focus, not as individual efforts/events – making it more appealing to the PWB. Chad Klaus agreed that Facilities would fund a table at Frist up to a few hundred dollars.
• Advertising/Marketing PEOC: Steve Shultz joined the PEOC to discuss marketing efforts. He suggested that the PWB could focus on PEOC at some point, but wanted to clarify the best junction and how to focus on how PEOC’s efforts have a broader impact. A question of whether it was possible to offer a regular focus (3/4 times a year) on the PEOC was raised. The committee invited Steve to continue to join them and advise on advertising and marketing efforts.
• Printing & Mailing. Skip Plank gave the committee an update on the Printing and Mailing department. He noted that they are only printing was is necessary and needed and with the advent of the digital press, the industry is changing, adapting, even making initiatives with tree-planting programs (paper is now a small part of the profitable end of the industry).
• Next meeting will be in early March.