What would be a cool sustainability project on a college campus?

Either getting rid of styrofoam and paper plates and cups or finding a way to recycle them. The amount of trash generated daily is appalling.

You could find a reputable company to install KVAR units on your air-handling system motors. They aren’t too expensive for each one (maybe $800) and they can substantially reduce the amperage draw. I

Commission a perpetual motion machine.

Thank you for asking this. There is a web site devoted to helping university campuses go green. They break it down into nine categories: Administration, Climate Change and Energy, Food and Recycling, Green Building, Student Involvement, Transportation, Endowment Transparency, Investment Priorities, and Shareholder Engagement.

Take a look at The College and Sustainability Report Card site and see what interests you. They offer tips for cheaper, short-term projects, or you may just find that if the efforts are focused on gaining the interest and financial support of the alumni and shareholders, you could start a project that leads to a legacy.

I have just sent this question on to some key people at some colleges, and perhaps they will be able to get you some really great answers.

Great answers, everyone – thanks! @Pied_Pfeffer, I’ve seen that site before, but didn’t know it had suggestions for on-campus projects in addition to the surveys and scorecards.

@skfinkel – Thank you for that extra effort! I really appreciate it!

@xxii I had to dig around for tips/recommendations. For example, under the Categories tab, if you select one a category, there is a list of Key Findings. Also, in looking at the details on an individual college’s report card, they list specifics on what they’ve done. Some even include a link to the school’s sustainability website, like this one.

Measuring heat loss in winter with infrared sensors. Will tell you a lot about insulation, the quality of the windows and so forth.

Track food waste in the cafeteria for one week. Relate that to how much energy is wasted in the whole process. Tilling the field, growing the food, shipping, the pesticides needed to make it, food preparation. Predict how much we could save if we right-sized our meals and did not waste.

If you are interested contact me offline. I can help you with some numbers and point you in the right direction. You will have to do the heavy lifting of weighing the food waste.