Today we’re thanking the staff members that make sure MSU is a great, green place to work for decades to come. They work together in their new facility to reduce waste, reuse unwanted items and recycle materials from 553 campus buildings. Their recycling facility has tripled the amount of materials MSU can recycle, and the public recycling drop-off center allows employees to bring in their recyclables from home. The MSU Surplus Store allows departments to unload unwanted items that they can try to sell, donate or recycle instead of going straight to landfill.

The Be Spartan Green initiative is a team effort, but we couldn’t have made the progress we have without these staff members! The MSU Surplus Store & Recycling Center will help achieve MSU’s goals to reduce energy use by 15%, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15%, and reduce landfill waste by 30% by 2015. Campus landfill waste was already reduced 1,037 tons from the 2007-08 year to the 2008-09 year. In 2010, MSU Recycling & Surplus collected 20 million pounds of unwanted material and diverted 69% out of the landfill.

MSU Recycling Center and Surplus Store Staff, thank you for keeping us Spartan Green!