Maricopa District promotes paper-reduction campaign

By Oshea Chaudhary, December 2011
Staff Writer

Maricopa Community Colleges launched a paper- reduction campaign at the end of October with the goal of decreasing paper use by 10 percent.

The campaign, which began on Oct. 26, 2011 and plans to continue to at least 2012, is targeted to reach each of the 10 college campuses in the Maricopa district. According to Sustainability Coordinator Thomas Williams, the paper- reduction campaign is the first districtwide sustainability project.

Students and employees will be welcomed to pledge what they will be doing to cut their paper consumption. The campaign hopes for 10,000 such pledges during the entire run of the campaign, which will serve as  reminders throughout the year.

“What we’d like to do in this campaign is instill behavioral changes in people in thinking about…not only about paper, but maybe ….taking it further to other things that they are doing in their lives,” says Williams.

The PVCC sustainability group is now part of the One Maricopa Campaign where different sustainability committees in the Maricopa district came together as one group in order to maintain communication between campuses.

One way PVCC has reduced paper usage is by not printing the class schedules. Instead, students will be able to view the schedule online.

According to the District, the Maricopa campuses use about 620, 000 pounds of paper per year, and reducing paper usage by 10 percent will save about 62,000 pounds of paper annually. With the reduction of paper use, the District can save money on ink and electricity used for printing, and reduce time required for delivery. On Feb. 17, 2010, Chancellor Dr. Rufus Glasper signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, formally committing MCCCD to the environmental responsibility, social justice and fairness, and the economic practicality of its practices. The ACUPCC is also an official reminder to the District to reduce its carbon footprint.

According to Williams, the District has also accredited a sustainability action council, a sustainability committee, and each community college campus has formed a green team in which sustainability acts will be practiced, such as recycling waste programs and a pilot program intended to measure sustainability results.

Jeanette Saxon, the Campus Coordinator for the PVCC Sustainability Committee says that being practical doesn’t have to change a certain lifestyle but can instead help others be aware of the resources that are being used. She says that she also walks the talk by being mindful of turning off the faucet when rubbing her hands with soap, and by conserving paper when printing.

“Paper reduction is like an educational gateway for people to start paying attention to whether they are wasteful or not,” says Saxon.
In the process of the campaign, PVCC will launch a new sustainability website, in which key components such as trash and recycle bins will be shown so that they can be located, says Saxon.

Saxon also plans to include employees and students who would like to join the sustainability team at PVCC, and she believes that decisions made to satisfy the present requirements shouldn’t compromise the ability of future generations to meet their standards.

“I just hope that (everyone) see(s) this paper- reduction campaign as a challenge; as an opportunity to educate themselves more about the impact that one piece of paper can have,” says Saxon.