Marist College Case Study: Dining Services Composting Program

Contact information
Steve Sansola, Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Marist College
(supervises campus dining services)

Composting project website: http://www.maristdining.com/sustainability/local.html

Marist College, 3399 North Road, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601
Independent comprehensive private liberal arts college in New York State with an enrollment over 4,500 traditional undergraduate students
College website: http://www.marist.edu

Case Study
A 2001 reorganization within the Division of Student Affairs led to the dining services operation (contracted through Sodexo) report to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. After prioritizing a number of dining service issues and keeping with the best practices in waste minimization, energy use and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the Dean, working closely with the College’s Campus Sustainability Advisory Committee (appointed by the college president in 2007) identified the diversion of food waste from the garbage waste stream as a prime area for improvement and cost savings.

This college’s success to maintaining minimal food waste was attributed to a series of initiatives that included portion control, composting and utilization of the food waste management production system Lean Path and education outreach.

Skidmore College Case Study: District Geothermal System

Contact Information

Riley Neugebauer, Sustainability Coordinator, Skidmore College
sustainability@skidmore.edu

Project-Related Website:
http://www.skidmore.edu/home/121105-sustainability.php

Institution Name: Skidmore College
Type of Institution: Private Liberal Arts College
Region: Capital District
# of Students: 2,600 students
Address: 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Website: http://www.skidmore.edu/sustainability/index.php

Synopsis

Skidmore College has utilized geothermal heating and cooling, a renewable energy, for several years now, beginning with the installations in our Northwoods Village residential apartments, then the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, followed by the Zankel Music Building. Now, the college has undertaken a district geothermal system for its Arts Quad, which is comprised of 4 buildings. This system is unique in its application and load sharing and shedding between buildings, which allows for more efficiency in the system. Planned geothermal projects at Skidmore will comprise over 600,000 square feet of building space, and 35% of campus.