LEED Certification
Please click here to learn more about our LEED Certification
As a means of furthering our goals for sustainability, the College of Human Ecology has come up with a series of initiatives to minimize the amount of waste that is generated during capital building projects, facilities management, and daily use. The graphic above illustrates the College’s waste stream and highlight the different efforts being made to reduce the amount of waste that is sent to landfill. Each tier of the pyramid corresponds to a waste-reducing program being undertaken, and shows the approximate amount of waste that has been diverted as a result of its undertaking. If you have an idea that could help further the colleges goal of waste mitigation, you can send us your thoughts and ideas to CHE.waste.ideas@cornell.edu
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Cornell University heavily depends on the recycling system for managing waste. With each waste basket, there is a blue recycling bin for paper. There are also special bins for soda cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles for recycling.
Human Ecology donates furniture no longer in use to the community. Recently, Human Ecology has given auditorium seats to a local opera house.
When renovating and constructing facilities, materials that can still be used like bricks and scraps of metal and masonry are recycled. This helps reduce the massive amount of waste that can come up from construction and reduce costs as well.
Cornell University outsources shredding management from a company called N.W. They come in and shred documents that may contain confidential information that belong to employees moving offices. All of the pieces are then recycled, 100%.
Martha's Cafe has switched to compostable flatware and coffee cups. These are made with PolyLactic Acid, which is made from sugar in corn and is biodegradable.
The last tip of the inverted pyramid displays trash disposal. Waste that cannot be recycled or reused is then properly disposed in the Cornell community.
- t-GEIS (Transportation-Focused Generic Environmental Impact Statement)
- Driving alone to campus: 55% of employees, 19% of grad students, and 5% of undergraduates.
- Carpooling or sharing a ride: 17% of employees
- Using public transit: 14% of employees, 37% of grad students, and 20% of undergraduates
- Walking: 9% of employees, 31% of grad students, and 71% of undergraduates.
- Biking: 3% of employees, 4% of grad students, and 1.4% of undergraduates.
- TIMS (Ten-Year Transportation Impact Mitigation Strategies)
- Community Park-and-Ride: These lots offer free parking and express service to Cornell and downtown. It will reduce the demand for parking on campus and reduce traffic impacts.
- Improvement for pedestrians: More sidewalks, safer pedestrian crossings, and easier pedestrian linkages to transit.
- Multi-use trails: In order to increase pedestrian and bicycle access, for example, in the old railroad bed between East Ithaca Recreation Way and Varna.
- Cycling culture: full-featured bike centers, bike stairs, development of bike lanes, and dedicated bike routes, which all encourage cycling.
- The Cornell Computer Reuse Association collects and refurbishes computers in order to donate them to those in need, like orphanages, community centers, and schools. For more information, visit http://rso.cornell.edu/ccra
- Operational efforts to turn off computer monitors when they are not in use and lights when offices close.
- Plumbing: the newly installed bathroom toilets are designed to minimize the waste of water that occurs during flushing the toilet.
- Installation of low flow fixtures in restrooms.
LEED Details
