Efforts

Student Clubs and Organizations

ECOS (Environmentally Concerned Oglethorpe Students)

This student organization is a meeting place for students who are interested in the environment and its stewardship. Membership has no requirements, but offers many rewards including conversation with peers who share environmental concerns, viewing of current and classic movies with environmental themes, lectures by regional experts on environmental topics, and participation in environmentally-themed campus activities. ECOS was instrumental in initiating the campus recycling program in 2006.

Fast Facts: This student organization received a grant from the Porsche Care Network!

Recycling

Recycling at Oglethorpe is easy and user-friendly. Every floor of each campus building has one bright blue, clearly marked recycling container for single-stream recycling.

All recyclable materials should be placed in this one container, including glass, plastic, aluminum, and paper. This flier outlines all the items that may be single-stream recycled. Recycling is collected along with trash by Oglethorpe’s dedicated housekeeping staff. Please take advantage of campus recycling and recycle your paper, bottles, and cans in the blue bins of your dorm, class building, and other campus buildings.

Do your part to make Oglethorpe an environmentally friendly campus. Reduce waste by only printing when necessary, printing on both sides of paper, and using reusable cups and bottles. Before you throw something away, check to see if it is recyclable and recycle all plastic, aluminum and paper in the blue single-stream bins.

Fast Fact: OU currently recycles 8 cubic meters of would-be waste per week, or 120 cubic meters of recycled material per semester!

Energy Conservation

The initiative is taking a three-pronged approach to energy conservation on campus. First, it is running an educational campaign to encourage students, staff, and faculty to behave in manners that conserve energy. Second, it is considering small-scale renovations of existing facilities with an eye toward energy conservation. This is no small task on a campus with buildings from the 1920s! Third, it is considering LEED Certification and/or Energy Star Certification for all large-scale renovation and new building projects.

Fun Fact: The university built the Bowden and Magbee residence halls with waste granite from locally quarried and cut tombstones. Use of local products dramatically decreased the energy necessary for shipping