TropEco News Your source of Green News at JCU
Costa Georgiadis launches TropEco
Sustainability begins with YOU How JCU’s students are turning sustainability into actions
New recycling services for Townsville The Fisher Shield has gone Green! Colleges compete to reduce their carbon footprint
Cairns O-Week launch Issue 1 - July - Sept 2011 www.jcu.edu.au/tropeco
Editorial Letter from the Editor
Costa’s TropEco Odyssey
Hi, fellow space travellers. This is your captain speaking. As we hurtle through outer space on our spaceship earth, we need to assess where we came from and where we are going.
Issue 1 July-September 2011 Editor: Adam Connell Sub Editor: Suzy Keys
Contents 2. Welcome to TropEco News 3. What’s happening? 4. TropEco in Cairns with Lania Lynch 5. Costas’s TropEco Odyssey with Adam Connell 6. The Fisher Shield has gone Green with Adam Connell 7. ‘Sustainability’ the change begins with (in) YOU! with Karmen Lužar 9. Away from Home recycling comes to JCU with Adam Connell 10. JCU Realises Energy & Water Savings with Adam Connell 10. Greening your assignments with Suzy Keys
Contribute to TropEco News Do you have a sustainability related story or event you want to tell people about? Please send it into tropeco@jcu.edu.au with any relevant pictures and we may put it up on the TropEco Facebook page or publish it in TropEco News.
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TropEco News will be a guiding light on our voyage of discovery. It is a brave new world we are going to. A world where the sun and moon will light our way. A world where the wind and the waves will power our dreams. A world where sustainability is our only hope as we reach the outer limits of growth in a nite ecosystem. A world where small is beautiful and less is more desirable. In this brave new green world, we need to change our thinking and the way we view the world around us if we are to achieve the goals of sustainability. This is our home and it’s the only one we’ve got. Change is always brought about by a small group of committed individuals who share a vision of a sustainable future. And we hope to realise this vision for JCU and the wider community through TropEco. Whatever your discipline, everyone has a part to play in transitioning to a more sustainable lifestyle... YES even you! Western society, and particularly Australians, are so out of balance with our consumption of resources that we would need 3 to 5 earths to support our lifestyle inde nitely. We are some of the lucky few people in this world that are in a position to make a di erence, so I call on everyone to start taking those small steps that will lead to large-scale changes, so everyone can enjoy this planet for thousands of years to come.
Adam Connell
Manager, Environment Division of Finance and Resource Planning James Cook University, Angus Smith Drive, Douglas, QLD 4811 P: +61 7 4781 5060 Mobile: 0459 097 253
Gardening is his passion and sharing that passion is what Costa Georgiadis loves to do. Page 5 TropEco was o cially launched during O Week by the star of SBS gardening series Costa’s Garden Odyssey, Costa himself at the Townsville campus. Adam Connell goes behind the man and discovers a passion that started in childhood and continued through university and into television. The Fisher Shield goes Green The TropEco Shield is a new initiative set up by the TropEco program to encourage college residents to take on sustainable behaviours where they live. Each semester a new sustainability challenge will be put to the colleges, with the rst being the Low Carbon Diet Challenge. Page 6 ‘Sustainability’- the change begins with (in) YOU! Kamen Lužar discusses the issues of sustainability and how students and sta can make the changes within themselves in order to bring about the changes needed on the outside. Page 7 Away from Home recycling ecobins Image:www.theplanetearth.com.au
A new recycling system for use in JCU classrooms and o ces, claims to help reduce 85% of waste going to land ll. It also has a low impact carbon footprint before it gets to your desk. Page 9
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
Welcome to the rst edition of TropEco S
TropEco is a new program launched by JCU to actively involve sta and students in sustainability initiatives. The TropEco program will run a range of initiatives over the coming years to help raise awareness of sustainability and give practical solutions to ensure everyone can make a di erence, both at JCU and in their everyday lives. TropEco News will bring you all the latest info on sustainability at JCU so make sure you sign up to the mailing list by emailing tropeco@jcu.edu.au
Our People TropEco is run by the Facilities Management O ce and has two full time sta members: Adam Connell is our Environment Manager based in Townsville and Lania Lynch is our Environmental Coordinator based in Cairns.
Our Programs Some of the programs TropEco has planned include:
Sustainable transport options A free bike share program, improved bike and pedestrian access and better access to end of ride facilities, subsidised weekly bus passes for students, and encouraging carpooling.
Reducing energy and water consumption Provision of information on energy and water use for each building; provide drinking water fountains in public areas and reusable water bottles to discourage bottled water purchases; and improve irrigation e ciency and reduce irrigation with potable water by nding alternatives such as storm-water and bore water. Cover Photo: Craig McDonald
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Recycling and Waste Management Reducing total waste produced; implementing recycling services in all buildings and public areas; collection of organics for composting; and having a second hand furniture store for unwanted furniture.
Enhancing our unique biodiversity and environment
Removal of weeds and revegetation of the creek systems on the Townsville and Cairns campuses; upgrading sh ladders to provide access to upstream reaches; development of a signi cant tree database for both campuses; and interpretive signage on both campuses highlighting the unique biodiversity of the wet and dry tropics.
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program in rolling out programs such as the Green O ce program or the Green College Program. Green Reps will be provided training and support in promoting sustainability to their peers.
Development of a Sustainability Working Group To guide the University in its sustainable objectives. The working group will look at areas such as policy development, sustainable procurement, embedding sustainability into academic courses, and guidance for the TropEco program.
Food sustainability Through development of community gardens, composting of organic wastes and permaculture workshops in partnership with Permaculture Townsville and NQ Dry Tropics NRM.
Green College Competitions Encourage students living on campus to partake in sustainability related activities by running a competition each semester based on an element of environmental sustainability, e.g. the Low Carbon Diet Challenge.
Above: Environment Manager,r,r Adam Connell works the barby at the Sustainability Day forum at the Cairns Campus. Below: Cairns Environmental Coordinator, Lania Lynch represents TropEco in Cairns. Photos: Suzy Keys
Green Intern program Allow students to gain work experience in programs related to sustainability at JCU. Students are encouraged to use their own ideas for projects or can be given a project by TropEco sta . Where possible the student's project will also gain them credits in their studies.
Green Reps Provide the opportunity for sta and students who want to make a di erence to become Green Reps, and assist the TropEco
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
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What’s happening? A plan for repowering Australia Beyond Zero Emissions presents a fully-costed blueprint for the transition to 100% renewable energy
Endorsed by Robin Batterham (former Howard Government Australian Chief Scientist), Professor Tim Flannery and Sir Gustav Nossal
Free public presentation Friday 12th August 3-4pm A3.1 Lecture Theatre James Cook University - Cairns Refreshments provided All welcome!
Fridayy 12th August 3-4 p.m. A3.1 Lecture theatre
Friday 9th September 3 - 4.30 pm
Clean up the Cairns Campus Annoyed by that persistent coke can stuck under your favourite shrub? Come and help clean up your campus.
JCU’s TropEco program is providing 600 weekly bus passes to JCU students from just $13 per week. This follows on from the sell-out success of the Townsville program, where 1400 passes have been sold since March 2011. The passes allow unlimited travel around the Cairns area for an entire week. That makes it cheaper than taking your car and you don’t have to worry about nding a park, as bus stops are located close to all JCU buildings on campus. You need a valid Tertiary Transport Card before you can purchase your bus pass from the JCU Bookshop. Eligible students need to complete a Tertiary Transport Card Application to apply for a tertiary transport card. More info. Email: tropeco@jcu.edu.au 3
They will present a free public presentation at JCU Cairns
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Winner of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz Australian Environmental Research Award !""#$%%&'()*+,'-)'./00/)*01)-2%0/"'0%&'()*+,'-)'./00/)*01)-2%3/4'0%,5617#28
Unlimited Cairns bus travel from $13 per week!
Beyond Zero Emissions Inc. is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organisation
Prizes to be won and well earned refreshments will be provided. Meeting Point: The Atrium Student Association Precinct Be the rst to register and win a subscription to G-mag Check it out at: www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/JCU +Cairns+Campus Type to enter text
Enter the TropEco Blue Marble Competition And win a night for two people at the Hidden Valley Cabins at Paluma - or equivalent in Cairns. Competition closes August 31st 2011 See back page for details
Their core goal is to develop blueprints for the implementation of climate change solutions that will rapidly reduce emissions and give our society and global ecosystems a chance of surviving into the future. They also run broad-based education campaigns based on this research. In partnership with the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute they are undertaking the awardwinning Zero Carbon Australia 2020 Project, which is putting together fully costed transition plans for getting Australia to zero emissions in ten years using commercially available technology. Beyond Zero Emissions are involved in these activities: research education transition planning corporate education political education network building solutions development Issue 2 of TropEco News will investigate their fully costed transition plans and for those who cannot attend the presentation, these plans are available as PDFs on their website.
www.beyondzeroemissions.org
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
TropEco in Cairns with Lania Lynch S
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Cairns Market Day - TropEco Environmental Coordinator Lania Lynch said new students were keen to nd out more about TropEco – JCU’s sustainability program at Market Day in Cairns on 22 February. Students were given TropEco backpacks as part of the TropEco launch. These bags are made from recycled plastic and designed to be re-used many times over. Along with information on TropEco programs, students received a copy of Gmag, a monthly environmental publication from a carbon-neutral company with great information on how to live sustainably (see www.gmagazine.com.au/ ). Twenty four new students signed up for the TropEco contact register. As a thank you, we had annual subscriptions to G-mag to give away to students who signed up. On Friday 25th of March, Professor Sandra Harding was in Cairns and was delighted to select the two winners – congratulations to Ken and Mirriam (pictured below right). Anna Maguire and Stuart Worboys shared the TropEco stall, giving out information about CAFNEC and their work on environmental issues around Cairns and the Far North. The Cairns Envirogroup were adjacent to the TropEco stall signing up around 35 interested students as new members. Stacey O’Brien also brightened up the day with fantastic face-painting.
Above: Cairns Envirogroup Stall with Robert Gronbeck , Sarah Douglass and Artitaya (Nicole) Mensforth. (Photo: Tai Inoue Mensforth)
Above: Stacey O’Brien making the day brighter with her superb face-painting skills. (Photo: Tai Inoue Mensforth)
Abo e: Lania Lynch and G-mag winner Above: Kenneth Oertle. (Photo: Angus McColl)
Abo e: Lania Lynch and G-mag winner Above: Mirriam Torzillo. (Photo: Angus McColl)
Contribute to TropEco News Do you have a sustainability related story or event you want to tell people about? Send it into tropeco@jcu.edu.au with any relevant pictures and we will put it up on the TropEco Facebook page or publish it in TropEco News.
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
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Costas’s TropEco Odyssey The star from SBS’s Costa’s Garden Odyssey recently visited JCU to help launch TropEco JCU’s new sustainability program. TropEco’s Adam Connell found that beneath all that hair is an interesting and highly intelligent man with an unending passion for our environment. They say you are what you eat and I guess this is true of Costa Georgiadis. He could be described as organic, down to earth, highly entertaining and full of life, much like the food he produces through his gardening expertise. Costa gave up his time to visit JCU for two days during O-Week to help launch the TropEco program. The highlight of his visit was a captivating speech where he shared with the audience, memories from his life and how he came to be the person he is today. It was evident from the start that this man was passionate about sustainability and ensuring a bright future for our children. Costa’s passion for gardening started as a young child where he was exposed to the pleasures of gardening by his large Greek family, in particular his father and grandfather. “We didn’t even know what organic meant back then, but everything was fresh out of the garden and we never needed pesticides or synthetic fertilisers to grow our food. That was just the way you did things,” Costa said.
Costa stresses that it’s important to know where your food comes from, as it gives you an appreciation for what you are eating and the e ort required to produce it. “Many children these days don’t even know how food is produced,” he comments. “They think it comes from the supermarket, not from a farm.” He is passionate that our children need to know where their food originates and be given the skills to grow their own food to ensure a sustainable future for everyone. Costa then talked about University and his working life. He confessed that he scraped through school and after a trip back to his native land (Greece) he decided to go to University. With his degree in Landscape Architecture from the Uni of NSW, he then worked in the industry for several years. However some areas of the industry mysti ed him, such as the bulldozing of native land in order to build a landscaped garden that looks like nature. “This is just crazy,” Costa says. (Continued page 6)
Photos from top to bottom: Costa introduces TropEco; Adam Connell, Costa Georgiadis and Leon Van Wyk check out the Rotary Sunshine Edible Garden. Photo: Craig McDonald.
His story telling is lled with tangents and anecdotes from his childhood, all of which seem to mesh together into an amazing story of the in uences that shaped him. One such tangent was a story about his grandfather’s simple yet e ective pigeon catching techniques, which they caught and kept as a food source. His grandfather would place bird seed under a basket tied to a long string to catch the birds. They would then feed the pigeons up on herbs and seed from the garden until they were plump and ready for the dinner table. He describes this method as “pre-marinating” the pigeons, and said they provided the family with a delicious meal.
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TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
The Fisher Shield has gone Green
(Continued from page 5) In his nal year at university Costa wrote a thesis titled ‘Green Cities of the Future: Ecology, Sustainability, Awareness and Responsibility for the Enrichment of Human Settlements’. He shows the audience the original copy of his thesis and mentions that he still refers back to it regularly to help him in his work and life, even after 20 years. Through his work as a landscape architect he was approached to lm a pilot for a gardening show. However it took 18 months before he heard back from a TV station, when SBS decided to take him on and lm the rst series of Costa’s Garden Odyssey. Just watching one episode of his program shows you what a passionate and highly intelligent man Costa is. His knowledge of the garden and how nature works is second to none. Costa’s life experiences have led him to incorporate sustainable principles into his work and life, such as the principles of permaculture, which look at whole of system thinking and working with nature, rather than trying to ght it. At the end of his speech, Costa shares some photos with the audience of his experiences. He describes a trip to Arnhem Land, where he took his elderly father and visited some of the local Indigenous communities. Some of the photos show the ingenuity of the local communities to reuse all their waste and produce their own food, in a truly sustainable fashion. A cement mixer turned into a composter, which took all the organic waste from the community, including cane toads, was a highlight. After an hour and a half Costa still had his audience captivated, but unfortunately it was time to nish. His many praises of the TropEco program and other sustainable initiatives in Townsville, such as the Food for Thought group, were greatly appreciated. You could not ask for a better person than Costa Georgiadis to endorse a program that focuses on sustainability. The man lives and breathes sustainability and, as you have seen, there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. TropEco would like to thank Costa for giving up his time to launch the TropEco program and his ongoing support. We hope to see him back at JCU in the near future.
Western Courts residents take out inaugural TropEco Shield Western Court students from left to right are as follows: Abdel Nayfeh, Mina Mina (WC Green Rep - kneeling), Chris Hanna, Daniel Charles, Lori Turner and Ismail Arakji. Photo: Craig McDonald
JCU’s residential colleges are now competing for a new trophy as well as $2,000 worth of prizes - all in the name of going green. The rst semester of 2011 saw JCU’s residential colleges give their all to take out the inaugural TropEco Shield, with Western Courts winning the competition with an unassailable score. The TropEco Shield is a new initiative set up by the TropEco program to encourage college residents to take on sustainable behaviours where they live. Each semester a new sustainability challenge will be put to the colleges, with the rst being the Low Carbon Diet Challenge. In the Low Carbon Diet Challenge residents competed to minimise their carbon footprint through initiatives such as reducing energy use, minimising waste, increasing recycling levels, participating in a questionnaire that gives tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, minimising car travel and holding college events such as clean up days. The more people that got involved from each college the more points they gained. Adam Connell, Environment Manager at JCU organises the competition each semester. “Each college nominates a Green Rep, who is responsible for promoting the competition to its
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
residents”, Adam said. “However, the Green Reps can’t do all the work themselves, and it is up to everyone to get involved in order to have a chance of winning the $1,000 rst prize.” “It really requires a team e ort to win”, added Adam. “Western Courts won the prize as the majority of its residents were actively involved in the challenge, thanks to the e orts of its Green Rep Mina Mina.” Mina Mina tried initiatives he thought might get the residents interested. “We had a pancake clean up day,” he said. “Debbie Lucas, our head of halls made us lovely pancakes and our residents had to pick up a piece of rubbish from around the college. By the end of it, the college was very clean." The TropEco Shield will be presented as a trophy and is currently being created by local artist Sue Tilley from recycled metal and glass, some of which is sourced from JCU. When nished, Western Courts’ name will be engraved as the inaugural winners and will be presented to the college. All future winning colleges will be added to the trophy each semester. (Continued page 8) 6
‘Sustainability’’the change begins with (in) YOU! Stacey O’Brien choosing the right plant for the right site for the Boathouse at Cairns Campus at the Sustainability Day forum. Photo: Suzy Keys
In the last few years, there is more and more talk about sustainability. Even though the concept is hard to de ne, we can say, that it often includes the values and actions towards respect and responsibility for life, sustaining vitality and biodiversity on Earth, reducing the use of unsustainable resources, recognising the carrying capacity of ecosystems and more. Written by Karmen Lužar Bringing this kind of perspective forward as a mainstream movement, we are slowly changing the collective attitude; community is becoming stronger in the awareness of the importance of selfsustainability and responsible engagements with the environment. This is visibly re ected in increasing numbers of educational programs, expansion of policies, legal and political frames for connectivity of development and sustainability across sectors, on all levels of government and globally. However, to move further from this vain description of sustainability, we need to rst recognise, that it became a trend, somewhat a buzz word, just like 'eco', 'organic' or 'climate change'. This does not reduce the importance to act on it. While we are more and more gaining an acceptance of the undeniable truth that climate change is not only leaving its 7
footprints, but also taking the hostages (taking its toll), we are also gaining the understanding that the word sustainability extends far beyond its ecological description of healthy continuance of lifecycles of the Earth’s ora and fauna. Sustainability goes to the core of the triple bottom line concept. It explains that society and economy rely on natural capital and are constrained by the environmental boundaries and therefore we should expect that every humaninduced development will result in some environmental impact and ultimately a change. Basically, we are left with two options. We can either enhance ecosystem services through environmental management or we focus on management of human behaviours - that is our consumption of resources. Even though the rst option is hopefully based on science and research,
it is hard to predict whether it represents a viable option that will in the long-run lead to sustainability. On the contrary, the second option seems already achievable in the short-term and in principal includes everyone. Every human being that consumes goods that are sourced from or will end up in the environment is included. This most likely means YOU are included.
JCU Green Team leads by example at Townsville campus A few individual students at James Cook University have recognised that they hold this potential for the ability to sustain within themselves and the importance to share the idea. They call themselves the JCU Green Team. (Continued on page 8)
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
TThe he Fisher Fisher Shield goes Green G (Continued from page 6) Next semester’s competition will focus on waste and recycling and will encourage residents to think about what they are throwing away and whether it can be reused, recycled or whether they really need it in the rst place. During the Low Carbon Diet Challenge the college Green Reps noticed there were a lot of improvements to be made in terms of managing waste at the colleges. Much of this comes down to education and getting students involved in fun activities that make them think about what they’re throwing away and what happens to it once it leaves their hands. “We need to remember there is no “away” and the waste we throw out today will a ect our environment for hundreds of years to come”, Adam commented. “We nd at the end of each semester the colleges have a big clean out of furniture, clothes, and other items as students leave. Much of this is still usable but is currently sent to land ll in large skips. We need to change this behaviour and set up programs where the useful items can be reused by future residents or donated to charity”. TropEco also has some exciting new developments in the area of food waste management for the college kitchens, although Adam is remaining tight lipped. He did share that a launch of the revolutionary, Australian rst system, from local company VRM, is expected in late 2011, and added “it will change the way kitchens manage their food waste in Australia”. Stay tuned to TropEco News for more info.
Sustainability (Continued from page 7) With the support of TropEco they recently started working on a few small projects at the Townsville campus. As they explained, they are not interested in 'tree-huggers' extremes'. Their main goal is to tackle peoples' indi erence. They are striving to achieve the behavioural change - from students being passive about the issue towards becoming more conscious and having an active stand in terms of sustainable living. One of their rst implemented ideas to raise sustainability awareness was a movie night. The rst one occurred on 27 May, showing a collection of short movies with a general focus to promote sustainable living awareness. The night was a great start to 'get the ball rolling' and the Green Team hope the event will become a regular activity on their agenda. Another action in progress is a creative art exhibition focused on raising sustainability awareness. The Green Team have already started their rst piece for the exhibition, where cigarette butts that are being collected in front of JCU’s Library on the Townsville campus will be put on display in vases. The main idea is to show how many butts are to be found on the ground in such a small area, even though there are two large bins provided just a few metres away. The intention is to create a 'wake-up call' for smokers, who are trashing the area, to stop the action, as well as for other people, who are walking by, to pick up the butt if they see it on the oor and lead by example. Future plans for the project are to form a
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
ccollection of butt- lled vases that w were arranged over longer period of time and put them together into an art a exhibition, accompanied by interpretation in and information on active a sustainable living. The Green Team T has calculated they have already al collected the equivalent of $10,000 worth of cigarettes as litter (not to mention the countless environmental e and health impacts) from fr this area in just a few hours. Many other initiatives are on the way; however, there is always room for more enthusiastic representatives within the University to promote sustainable practices. All students and sta are invited to join the group, as well as vendors and retailers on campus. If interested, you can simply attend one of the meetings that are currently held every Thursday at 11.45 in front of the Uniclub at the Townsville campus or register your interest on the TropEco website or Facebook page (add TropEco James Cook Uni as your friend). You do not need any great knowledge about sustainability, just be willing to help out and share your skills. Whether you are good in communication, administration, IT, drawing and design, or any other ‘craft’, you can make a di erence by getting involved. Ultimately, it is all about the connectivity with friendly, like-minded people and the environment, while sharing ideas and supporting each other in implementing them. There is no need to just wait for whatever politicians and managers will do; remember, the change begins within YOU.
TropEco is JCU’s sustainability program. It runs programs and initiatives to support, educate and change behaviour in the JCU community. Sta and students are invited to become involved in the JCU Green Team by contacting tropeco@jcu.edu.au or joining the TropEco James Cook Uni Facebook page.
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Away from Home recycling comes to JCU JCU has rolled out some great new recycling services in public areas at its Douglas and Cairns Campuses thanks to funding from the Packaging Stewardship Forum and TropEco.
Adam Connell with the brightly colour coordinated bins, coming to an o ce near you. Photo: Craig McDonald
Adam Connell Public area recycling services were rolled out to Townsville and Cairns last year, with further services rolled out in o ce buildings on the Douglas Campus in early 2011. The brightly coloured bins can be seen in o ces, tea rooms and common areas around the campus to complement the public place recycle bins. JCU Environment Manager, Adam Connell commented “The bins are important to ensure sta and students have the ability to recycle wherever they are at JCU.” Easy to use The new bins are designed to be easy to use and have highly visible signage to reduce the chance of contamination. All the new services contain the Queensland Government’s signage, which is being used all across Australia. “We need sta and students to use the bins correctly. It’s really easy, as the signage tells you what can be recycled”, Adam said.
All you need to remember is:
Or, if possible, recycle it in the new recycle bins. Early results from audits conducted on the new recycling systems show contamination is occurring frequently, often resulting in all recyclables being sent TropEco is challenging sta to think about to land ll. This has been identi ed as originating from both JCU sta and how much waste they produce at work and students and is usually in the form of try to keep it to a minimum. If people are plastic bags and food waste in recycle bins. regularly producing a large volume of waste - more than ts in the ecobin in a day Paper bins are also being contaminated with cardboard and hand towels. These can - they should be taking a long hard look at their behaviours and see how they can cut be recycled in the yellow recycle bins but not in the blue o ce paper bins. this down. Please make yourself aware of bins Human misconceptions of waste “People look at the small red ecobins and say ‘I can’t t all my rubbish in there’, but once they give them a go they are surprised by how little rubbish they can produce”, Adam said.
• Red for waste • Yellow for general recyclables • Blue for o ce paper Most recyclables can be placed in the yellow bins, however o ce paper, con dential items or large cardboard boxes As humans we have the common should be placed in the speci c bins misconception that once rubbish is in the provided. bin it’s been thrown “away” and we no Eco bins & mini bins longer need to deal with it. But there is no “away” and for many types of rubbish it will The TropEco program is also rolling out be in our environment for hundreds of desk-side paper recycling bins and mini years, possibly still creating pollution desktop waste bins. These are already problems for our great grandchildren. being seen in o ces in Cairns and Townsville. To get your hands on these stylish “ecobins” bins you will need to swap them for your current desk-side waste bin.
“We need to change this type of attitude”, Adam says. If you produce small items of general waste, you can put it in your mini desktop ecobin and it will be collected by “The ecobins encourage sta to think about the waste they produce at their desk, cleaners, otherwise you will need to take it which is mostly paper, so we are providing to the closest communal waste bin. a paper recycle bin for this. 9
Make yourself aware of the new recycling bins at JCU and use them correctly to avoid our recyclables being sent to land ll. In the future regular waste audits will be conducted to identify the sources of contamination and league tables will be produced identifying the best and worst recycling areas of JCU.
If you would like to get your hands on the o ce ecobins or have any questions about the new recycling program please contact tropeco@jcu.edu.au Additional recycling services are expected to be rolled out in Cairns in early 2012.
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
JCU Realises Energy & Water Savings JCU has reduced its energy and water use in 2011 through the e orts of the University’s sustainability program - TropEco – as well as e ciency improvements from several infrastructure projects. The TropEco program, launched in 2011, encourages sta and students to reduce their energy and water use through behavioural changes and is already seeing an impact. The University has set targets for energy and water use at its Cairns and Douglas Campuses and the Douglas Campus has reduced its energy and water use signi cantly in 2011 and is currently tracking well below the targets set. (See Graphs) Energy and water consumption on the Cairns Campus has increased in 2011 due to an expanding campus, with several new buildings being commissioned. Water use has also increased signi cantly in 2011 due to problems associated with the cooling plant, which is due to be upgraded later this year. Environment Manager, Adam Connell said “The results are encouraging but there are still many ways we can continue to reduce consumption of these resources.” “We need everyone to get involved in making small changes that add up to big savings over an entire campus,” Mr Connell stated. “Often the unwanted behaviours are due to long-held myths or beliefs that need to be expelled for good,” Mr Connell added. “So what can all sta
and students do to help reduce energy and water use at JCU?” Here are 10 simple ideas that don’t require too much e ort.
10 ways w to save v ve wa w ater & ener enerrgy gy 1.
Switch o lig lights whenever you leave a room
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Switch o your computer when you leave at the end of the day
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Report leaking taps or electrical and airconditioning faults to *FMO immediately through **MEX (see contacts below)
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Use natural lighting where possible
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Only switch on A/C units when required
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Switch o all non-essential non appliances at the wall when not in use (standby power costs JCU thousands of dollars each year)
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Ensure all windows and doors are closed in air-conditioned buildings
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Only use the water you require when washing hands/ showering etc.
9. Set up your computer to go into sleep mode aft f er 10 ft minutes of inactivity 10. Make sure your workplace isn’t using appliances such as fridges that are not required.
Greening your assignments Have you thought about how you can make your assignments greener? With a bit of imagination and the support of your lecturer it isn’t hard to do and the bene ts to your career may be enormous. Suzy Keys This is especially relevant to business subjects, because the Carbon Tax and predicted ETS will make being in business and being green, almost the same thing. However it may be applied across all degrees, so if you can choose a topic this semester, then choose something TropEco. For example, if you have to choose a website to analyse, choose a green one. There are plenty to choose from. If you are studying products, then study a green product. The same applies for Business Research Methods, Integrated Marketing Communications, Negotiation and Public Relations. Sometimes you cannot choose the topic, but may be able to negotiate with the lecturer to put a green slant on it. After all sustainability is the biggest challenge that faces humanity in the 21st century, and all businesses will have to deal with it. Why not be ahead of the pack? I am completing a business degree with majors in Marketing, Management and Entrepreneurship this semester, and have managed to squeeze in many green assignments including a marketing strategy for the running of green events at the Boathouse in Cairns and analysing hybrid cars, public transport and the government’s public relation’s management of Peter Garret’s disaster with the pink insulation batts. Be daring, be creative and be sustainable.
For more info f rmation on fo TropEco’s ’’s programs go to www.jcu.edu.au/tropeco or email tropeco@jcu.edu.au *Facilities Management O ce
**Maintenance Request System
TropEco, James Cook University, Tropical Queensland, Australia
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Enter the TropEco Blue Marble Competition And win a night for two people at the Hidden Valley Cabins at Paluma - or equivalent in Cairns. The Blue Marble represents the Earth and it’s the only Earth we’ve got! Take one Blue Marble from the blue marble bowl at your campus Student’s Association o ce. Take photos of it in unique locations and make a statement about the environment or sustainability. You can also pass it on to others, who can do the same. There are only a limited number of marbles so take care of them.
Upload your photos to the TropEco James Cook Uni Facebook page or email them to tropeco@jcu.edu.au .au. The best ve photos will win a subscription to o G-Magazine Gand the photo judged to be the most thought provoking photo (in a sustainability context) will win a night for two people at the Hidden Valley Cabins at Paluma- or equivalent in Cairns Your photo may also be displayed at a sustainability art exhibition planned for later this year. Competition closes August 31st 2011