the UW Sustainability blog
the UW Sustainability blog
As July hits the Pacific Northwest, it means more sun, more time outside and for sustainable-minded folks, less plastic. Join UW Recycling, UW Sustainability and the WholeU in lowering our plastic waste during Plastic Free July.
Plastic Free July speaks for itself: avoid using or buying plastic during the month...
So much of the material we handle on a daily basis is made of plastic. Let’s delve into some common questions about the puzzling predicament of perplexing plastic!
Understandably, many people often think that the chasing arrow symbol on a plastic item means that the product is recyclable. However, that’s not always the case. The symbol and the number inside it is called a “resin identification code,” which tells the consumers what kind of plastic was used to make the product. The resin identification code was made in...
Check Out UW Recycling’s Top Movie and Book Recommendations
The UW Recycling team has put together a list of books and movies we love that teaches us more about the world of waste. Best of all, they are (nearly) all available with a Netflix account, library card, or flat out free!
UW Recycling recognizes that issues surrounding waste and pollution disproportionately impact people of color, while the majority of media representation about waste and pollution is created by white individuals. With this list, we strive to embrace inclusive films and...
Feedback from the University of Washington community on the UW’s draft Sustainability Strategy and proposed actions has been published.
The draft Sustainability Strategy was released on Earth Day, April 22. All members of the UW community were invited to take a survey to provide input on the draft - including the guiding principles and targets - and proposed actions.. Those survey results and comments have been compiled and are available as a PDF document.
The feedback has been presented to the...
For Emma Wilson and Anya Gavrylko, sustainability is about more than just the environment.
As the co-leaders of the Sustainability Curriculum Coalition (SCC) student group, the duo shares a passion to advance and redefine sustainability at the UW.
"There is the three pillars approach that is environment, social, economic, which is sort of like level one sustainability," Anya said. "It's understanding how one action impacts everything throughout those other actions and having everyone understand that they have a role to play."...
The 2020 Environmental Justice Conference, hosted by the College of the Environment's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion office, works to bring awareness on environmental and climate justice initiatives, as well as to create a space for dialogue across scales, affiliations, and worldviews. This is the third annual version of the conference, and the first to be held entirely online. The conference...
This is a guest post from 10-year-old Sharda Shah, the daughter of Mauli Shah who works in UW Medicine’s IT Department. As they have been looking for projects at home, this Earth Month they found a solar cooker sitting unused in their shed and decided to try it out. Here are Sharda’s thoughts on using a solar cooker, and how it shows solar energy can be useful even at small scales.
It is difficult to regain our motivation and desire to try new things during these new and unprecedented times. We all want life to go back to normal, and thus fall into unhealthy routines...
Gabrielle Coeuille and Pooja Kumar are bringing a new perspective to sustainability with their presentation as part of the Washington Higher Education Sustainability Coalition (WAHESC) Digital Earth Day Seminars. Both are currently interning with UW Recycling: Gabi is the Waste Diversion & Reduction Intern and Pooja is the Waste Diversion Assistant.
This pair will present together on environmental justice and education in local indigenous communities, topics they both researched for their senior projects. The Digital...
What an unconventional year for RecycleMania! UW Recycling planned several campaigns including events encouraging reusable mug/tumbler use and a clothing repair workshop. However, these events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Washington. As the competition wraps up, let's take a look at the successful events this year:
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Guest post by UW Farm manager Perry Acworth
Wearing calf-high rubber boots, knit hats, gloves and full foul weather gear - overalls and hooded jackets - two farmers, keeping 6 feet apart if not more, commence transplanting hardened-off, 2-inch high multi-colored Swiss chard. Rain, and then hail, falls the entire day from gray, swiftly moving, cloudy skies. Two times the sun managed to come out, offering a brief break in the downpour.
The farm located at the Center for Urban Horticulture (CUH) is one of three growing sites for...