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January 31, 2003
Cleaning and Greening the
Colgate Campus is Underway Green
Strides at Colgate are being implemented in various sectors of campus,
and Buildings and Grounds is taking action by purchasing safer and more
environmentally-friendly cleaning products. This Green Print initiative,
headed by Bob Pils, Assistant Director of Custodial Operations, will
benefit the entire Colgate community and especially the B&G custodial
staff. One new
product, ‘H2Orange2’, a commercially used cleansing product that is
useful for cleaning several different types of surfaces, could potentially
replace three or four of the cleansing products currently used at Colgate. As
H2O2 is useful for floors, toilets, counters and even windows, it could
potentially save tons of material resources over time. The solution is simply
diluted in custom spray bottles according to the task. The reduction of waste
is coupled with the benefit of a less toxic, hydrogen peroxide-based solution
entering the waste stream. This reduces risk of harming natural ecosystems in
the area in addition to reducing risk for handlers. The product, although being
much milder to those who contact it, is still strong enough to kill the HIV
virus. If the new cleaning product proves to be effective, it would
potentially save the University’s many dollars over time. Although the
initial startup cost of purchasing the custom bottles would be an increase in
spending, Pils points out that the money saved by the university and labor saved
by custodial staff would make up for the initial outlay. The product is
expected to be in full experimental swing by next week, and if effective, will
be used campus-wide beginning this summer. So far, Pils asserts, “It
looks like it’s positive all the way around.”
The purchase of
H2O2 is one of many initiatives undertaken by B&G in effort to create a more
positive environmental outlook for the future of our campus; their support for
environmentally-friendly practices is encouraging as well as exciting. Pils
remarks that “The Green Summit was an excellent start to bringing everyone
together about environmentally-friendly practices. . . . Hopefully this will
carry on to make Colgate a greener community!”
- Jill Ramsier
‘03
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