CCU welcomes Chapel Hill conservationists

Representatives from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill paid a visit to Coastal Carolina University to observe our Campus and Community Sustainability Initiative on July 12. B.J. Tipton, solid waste program manager at UNC, and Natalia Posthill, recycling coordinator, took a special “green” tour of the CCU campus.

“Through this evolving green movement, we need to have an open door with other universities and institutions,” said Jennifer Sellers, sustainability coordinator at CCU. “We need to see what other schools are doing, share what we are doing, and work together to make a bigger impact at our universities and in our communities.”

This summer, Tipton and Posthill have been visiting universities, including the University of Vermont and University of Maryland, that have single-stream recycling programs as they prepare to make changes with UNC recycling procedures. Single-stream recycling refers to mixing papers, plastics, metals and glass in a single container as opposed to having residents sort the materials themselves. Once the material is picked up, it is sorted properly.

“We are rethinking our program,” said Tipton. “We want to make changes that will make recycling easier for us and our large student body. This will be a big transition.”

The visitors were also interested in adopting a Green Team concept for UNC. Like CCU’s team, this student group would take care of UNC game-day and event recycling.

During the tour, Tipton and Posthill saw CCU’s new recycling stations, which provide easy and proper disposal of cans, bottles, paper and techno-trash (ink cartridges, batteries, compact discs). Other tour highlights included the new electric vehicle charging stations and a look at the new HTC Center.

“It’s great to see there is not a barrier between the administration’s goals and sustainability,” said Tipton. “[CCU] is doing many great things.”