For Emory's Chapter of the Student Environmental Action Coalition, the fall of 1997 was an exciting time.
We began several ambitious projects, but our most far-reaching accomplishment would begin with a simple-sounding idea: We wanted Emory to begin using recycled paper. As club president, I took charge of the project and promised I would not leave Emory until the University had adopted a policy encouraging the use of recycled paper. At the time, no one involved in the project had any idea what we were getting into.
I was at first shocked by the amount of paper used by the University: about 133 million sheets every year, or enough to circle the globe. More research revealed some sickening statistics regarding the number of trees cut, area of land degraded and amount of landfill space associated with paper and paper products.
It was easy to estimate Emory's contribution to these figures, as well as the possible benefits from Emory using recycled paper. Air pollution would have been reduced by over 16 tons each year, 9,000 fewer trees would be cut annually and water usage would be reduced by 5 million gallons.
If the University implemented policies to actually reduce its overall paper consumption, the environmental benefits would be even greater. We thought that these were goals worth working for.
ECO-SEAC's history is one of grass roots student involvement. The project had to begin with education of the student body.
The club sponsored a Student Government Association resolution supporting the use of recycled paper and collected hundreds of signatures on a petition asking the administration to institute recycled paper use. Once these time-consuming tasks were completed, I thought the goal was near. Soon, I found out that the months of work had only been the beginning.
The administration liked the idea, and the proposal I put together. I soon learned that the University exercises little control over details like paper purchasing, and that I would now have to help convince every department on campus to use recycled paper. Even finding out which people to talk to - there are 52 departments in the College alone - would be difficult, much less asking them to make changes. Fortunately, the project gained the support and assistance of Rex Hardaway, director of university purchasing, and Joe Troncale, a special consultant for the project.
What followed was a superb introduction to bureaucratic organization. For weeks we conducted focus groups, distributed surveys, and prepared reports of our progress. Joe Troncale was able to negotiate with paper suppliers to make recycled paper cheaper than non-recycled paper, an accomplishment that meant our work could now save money as well as trees.
It has been over two years since I began the effort to institute recycled paper use at Emory. I have kept my promise to remain at Emory, and have been employed here since I graduated last year. The work I began with ECO-SEAC and continued with University Purchasing has shown that Emory can reduce its environmental impact, while the savings from doing so could pay for the costs associated with making the changes we proposed.
I hope that in the future the University adopts an environmentally sound paper procurement policy, and that my story can finally serve as a positive example for those who wish to work for positive change at Emory.
Adam Watts ('99C) is from Brookhaven, Mississippi.
