For the second year in a row, Bastyr University has been recognized as one of King County's Best Workplaces for Recycling and Waste Reduction.
The University's campus recycling and waste reduction initiatives include:
- Replacing garbage bins in the Bastyr Dining Commons with compost and recycling bins
- Establishing CFL bulb-collection stations and battery recycling programs
- Creating a Styrofoam packaging and "peanut" recycling program
- Implementing a composting program that diverts 51 tons of materials from landfills annually
Bastyr's environmental leadership has also helped it earn a five-star EnviroStars Certification through the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks. The EnviroStars program certifies local companies based on their practices and policies that demonstrate commitment to protecting the environment.
In awarding the five-star rating, King County noted:
- Bastyr's ChargePoint America electric car charging stations
- The LEED platinum certification of the University's new Student Village (the highest rating possible)
- The "Best Recycler" award the University won in 2010
- The "Bastyr Bikes" program, which makes 20 bikes available on campus for students to rent
- Bastyr's shuttle vans, which help reduce commutes
- The whole-food nutrition kitchen and medicinal herb garden
- The University has reduced its solid waste by half in the past year
King County's Solid Waste Division says other workplaces can learn from Bastyr's recycling and waste reduction program. Gary Nevius, facilities and capital projects manager, says the next phase in the University's recycling and waste reduction efforts is to increase the amount of recycling and composting even more this fall.