Sustainability - Live and Dine Green

Housing and Dining Services are committed to sustainability. We all do our part to reduce waste, preserve natural resources and use environmentally friendly products.

Dining Services - Dine Green
Serving food on campus impacts our environment in many ways and Dining Services staff members are focused on educating students and the campus community on how to reduce food waste and make smart choices in the dining center. Small steps add up to big change. Do you have ideas on how to reduce waste? Email us at reducewaste@mail.und.edu

Housing
Students in the residence halls are active in recycling - and it's not just paper or plastic. The Association of Residence Halls (ARH) has a Recycling Representative in each hall, who is an advocate for influencing the behavior of students. In Fall 2008, ARH paid for a recycling container in each student room. Students have participated in RecycleMania for the first time in 2008 and also the Nike ReUse a Shoe, athletic shoe recycling program.

2008-09 Highlights

1. In the spring of 2009, the Residence Hall Recycling Board received the John Meagher Ecology Award from UND Facilities. The award originated in 1992 and it recognizes persons (groups) who have taken leadership roles in ecology and conservation.  Students on the Recycling Board work with Facilities Management staff to make recommendations regarding short and long-range recycling goals and to increase participation in recycling in the residence halls.  In August 2008, the ARH Recycling Board provided each residence hall room (approximately 1600) with a recycling container.  The project was paid in full by the ARH.  With the containers in place, the recycling has increased by 9%. 
2. UND Residence Hall students participated in Recyclemania, a national recycling competition among more than 400 colleges and universities across the country.
3. Dining Services, for the second year, will again celebrate Earth Day by going trayless in all residential dining centers.
4. During spring 2009, Dining Centers are sponsoring an advertising campaign in conjunction with Earth Day to educate students on reducing their food waste. Food waste measurement studies are currently underway in the dining center dish rooms to measure food waste.
5. Adopt-A-Lot parking lot cleaning program is still going strong. Groups from the residence halls sponsor a parking lot on campus and are responsible for cleaning trash from the lot several times a year.
6. Re-Use a Shoe, athletic shoe recycling program was started in spring 2009.