Words

Earth Day is celebrated annually to mark environmental awareness and support environmental protection. To celebrate Earth Day, take a look at some of the things happening on campus that are reducing Algonquin College’s environmental footprint and creating solutions for an eco-friendly future.

• Algonquin College announced the Throw in the Towel initiative in Spring 2023. We have been phasing out using paper hand towels in most College washrooms to exclusively use the already installed automatic hand dryers on the Ottawa Campus, in an effort to lower the campuses’ ecological footprint.
• Algonquin College Print Services participates in the Konica Minolta Clean Planet Recycling Program for the recycling of used toner, toner cartridges and consumable printer parts such as imaging units, fusers, developer units and drums. Print Services utilizes this program for all Print Shop and printer fleet recycling. The College FindMe printers and Print Shop production printers also automatically enter energy saving mode after short periods of inactivity reducing overall energy consumption. The Print Shop utilizes FSC and SFI certified papers. All printer fleet paper is SFI certified assuring that the fiber used to manufacture the paper comes from recycled content or from a certified forest. The majority of paper used within The Print Shop is FSC certified, with fibers used in the manufacturing of paper sourced from sustainably managed forests.
• The Algonquin College Print Shop and Connections: The Campus Store recycle cardboard boxes for courier and freight shipments. Whenever possible, cardboard packaging is re-used and labeled (please see the attached PDFs) to create awareness of this green initiative. The Print Shop applies labels to boxes and envelopes requesting that the materials are returned to be re-used.
• The Horticulture Department relies on composting where all “green waste” is composted. Lights in the Building M greenhouse, have been recently updated to LED lights with energy saving software. The software controls the amount of light used based on how much sun is received that day. On sunny days, the lights dim or turn off automatically.
• Parking Services, in partnership with Facilities Management shared that bike repair stations have recently been installed at the Woodroffe campus, outside the Student Commons (E) Building, CA Building and B Building. These stations allow cyclists to easily mount their bicycles and use the tools provided to perform minor repairs. For help with repairs use the Quick Read (QR) code on the front of the Bike Repair Station to view detailed instructions on your smart phone. Bike rack locations are also located in several places on campus.
• Did you know that the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence is a showcase and teaching lab for sustainable construction and is one of the largest LEED platinum certified buildings in Canada? The building — which offers direct access to LRT public transportation — boasts a 4,000 m2 green roof that consists of sedum drought-resistant plants which grow in a sand medium, requiring little maintenance or irrigation and providing insulation value. This growing vegetation also absorbs and controls rainwater runoff, which creates less strain on the buildings storm sewer drainage systems.
• Many courses in the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence, include the Vocational Learning Outcome, “Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship”. Our Green Architecture Ontario Graduate Certificate exemplifies our commitment to going green.
• Algonquin College offers a number of sustainability-focused programs in which sustainability is a primary focus of the curriculum. These programs are intended for students with an interest in pursuing careers in sustainability-related fields. Programs include:
  • Bachelor of Building Science
  • Environmental Technician (Co-op) (Pembroke Campus)
  • Environmental Management and Assessment
  • Environmental Studies  (General Arts and Science)
  • Sustainable Architectural Design (Formerly Green Architecture)
  • Water and Waste Water Technician
  • Sustainability Education Part-time Online
• The Algonquin College Office of Applied Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ARIE) connects industry with students to conduct research and produce innovative products and services. Many of these innovations are focused on improving environmental outcomes. Over the past year, ARIE has supported research in solar panel efficiency, new transportation methods to reduce emissions, geothermal heating solutions, green roof performance, battery charging and storage efficiency, and much more.  

This spring, Algonquin College will be phasing out using paper hand towels in most College washrooms to exclusively use already installed automatic hand dryers on the Ottawa Campus. Currently the College spends approximately $100K/year on hand paper towels and an additional $70K in labour-related costs for stocking washrooms and collecting waste.

“The College is committed to increasing sustainable practices and reducing waste and emissions associated with daily operations,” said Ryan Southwood, Executive Director, Facilities Management, Algonquin College. “The College is committed to lowering its ecological footprint by managing waste and continuing on the path from green to sustainable.”

The actual hand paper towel dispensers will be removed. This will affect 170 washrooms on the Ottawa Campus.

In the past 18 months, the cost of paper towel has more than doubled. Not only is it more expensive, but it is non-compostable, so waste ends up in a landfill.

In terms of waste volume this represents at least 44,200 bags (30 gallons) that goes into a landfill annually. The College uses 2,100 cases of paper towels each year or 9,765,000 ft of paper per year.

Note: Paper towels will remain available in shops, classrooms, labs and kitchens as well as the E, R and X Buildings. Only washrooms with installed hand dryers will be affected by this change.

This week, April 17-21, 2023, is National Volunteer Week! Volunteers are an essential part of society and make many positive contributions to our communities. This week, let’s celebrate our hard-working volunteers and learn ways we can help out too.

To kick off the week, we are revisiting a conversation we had in February of this year with Leah Grimes, a Volunteer Support Specialist in Student Support Services at the Ottawa Campus, to chat about the AC Volunteer Centre and how you can spread kindness in your community and beyond through volunteerism. Continue reading →