Colorado State University
I applied to graduate school at Colorado State University and visited campus over spring break. I was so impressed with sustainability initiatives on campus and wanted to share what I saw with our class.I also included a few links that Marite Perez, our guest speaker on March 26, suggested we check out. I met with her briefly after class. She graduated with her MBA from CSU, focusing on Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise. Here's the link to her program: MBA Sustainability CSU
CSU utilizes alternative energy, graywater reuse, single-stream recycling, and public transportation, just to name a few! I divided my pictures in to categories: buildings, waste, transit, and graywater recycling.
Feel free to comment and share your feedback! Let me know if you'd like any additional information, or if you have any ideas about how we can help make UT more sustainable.
I am a senior in biosystems engineering at UT, and applied to the Civil and Environmental Engineering Program at CSU.
CSU was ranked #1 in the STARS rating system, and was the first university in the world to reach Platinum status. STARS is the same environmental rating system UT uses. Read more about CSU and STARS: http://green.colostate.edu/
Waste
Nearly every restaurant on campus had a separate bin for trash, recycling, compost, and liquid waste. Marite also taught us about composting in our own homes. She made it sound so simple and easy!
Separate bins for landfill waste and single-stream recycling.
Every trash can on campus has single-stream recycling. No need to sort your waste, and no excuse not to recycle!
Buildings
Who needs paper towels when you have Dyson hand dryers in every bathroom?
Water bottle refill station -- we have these at UT too! I accidentally forgot to bring my refillable coffee mug :/
CSU has a ton of green space throughout campus -- promotes people to enjoy the great outdoors!
Solar panels power the Engineering Building -- there were probably more panels throughout campus, but these were the only ones I saw. Martie's husband works for TVA, wasn't sure exactly how much CSU supports clean energy initiatives.
Transit
Wide bike lanes like this one are all throughout campus and Fort Collins. Notice the Ram riding the bicycle!
The CSU Rams -- and of course it's a Ram riding a bicycle to mark all of the bike lanes!
Plenty of bike parking -- and even permeable pavement!! Permeable pavement helps capture, retain, and treat stormwater.
Bike parking is available nearly everywhere.
Efficient skateboard parking! I thought that was really cool.
Gray Water Reuse System
This was one of my favorite things about CSU! In their newest residence hall, they collect the water from the showers and sinks of the first floor and use that water for flushing toilets. I got a tour of the system from an engineering graduate student and I'll explain the basics of the process.
These are 2 equalization tanks, which help regulate the system when supply and demand fluctuate. The raw gray water is fed in to these tanks first, and then it's treated. The tanks have a total capacity of about 550 gallons. The system is continuously monitored and can be switched over to city water at any point.
This is the main part of the treatment system.. First, the water flows through filter media, which is housed in the pipes you see hanging on the wall.
Then, chlorine (in the form of bleach, NaOCl) is injected in to the system. The water remains in the small tank on the left for a few hours to achieve the retention time required for chlorine disinfection.
I applied to the civil and environmental engineering program at CSU, and this was definitely a highlight of my visit. If you'd like information about the gray water reuse system, check out this article: Fifty Shades of Gray Water
This is just another awesome picture of Colorado State. There are open fields and a large pond in the center of campus. The Rocky Mountains are just to the west of campus.
