McDaniel College is going green.
The school has launched a plan to neutralize its harmful effects on the environment by next year, joining other colleges and universities in Maryland and throughout the country.
“Beyond the coolness factor, students really do appreciate, perhaps even more than their parents, the impacts of global warming,” said Esther Iglich, McDaniel?s chief information officer and head of its most recent green program.
“Most of our students have grown up since kindergarten with recycling and environmental issues discussed or acted upon in their classes.”
The 1,600-student school is surveying faculty, staff and students to find out how detrimental their driving, paper use and wasteful eating habits are to the environment.
The amount of printing paper used at libraries has been cut in half since the school began charging students 5 cents per page after they use 400 pages, said Donnella Folendorf, the school?s information technology office manager.
And a printer cartridge hasn?t been emptied yet this year; usually seven are drained every month, Folendorf said.
In addition, bins for recyclables have been placed next to trash cans throughout the campus ? a convenience for which many residents have recently clamored.
The school?s pledge comes amid intense debate within the county over whether to partner with Frederick County to build a $320 million waste-to-energy incinerator, which could burn 1,500 tons of garbage each day.
The county?s recycling rate of 23 percent is among the worst in the state, and many residents have railed against an incinerator, claiming it would crush any chance the county has of increasing its recycling.
McDaniel was one of hundreds of schools throughout the country and 19 in Maryland ? including the University of Maryland, College Park, Mount St. Mary?s and Towson University ? to sign the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, which strives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
