Santa Clara University

To conserve energy here is what Campus Recreation is doing

Solar Panels

Cardio Equipment

All cardio equipment (33 machines), with the exception of six treadmills, operates on self-generated energy that means the machines are "Powered by Sweat." Look for stickers on these machines to highlight that you are powering it up.

Woodway Treadmills

Campus Recreation recently bought two new Woodway Treadmills, that have been featured on "The Biggest Loser", which operate on self-generated energy. Patrons burn 30% more calories on these machines and we save 597.4 KW of energy, which is enough to power your computer for 10 years!

Motion Sensors

There are motion sensors located in the work room, laundry room, conference room and storage rooms. Lights only come on when someone is using the rooms. In the past, the work room lights were on from 6:30 a.m. - midnight (business hours) but now when you walk in, they are OFF! Is there a room in your building, home or office that could use a motion sensor? They are easy to install. Contact Facilities to learn more.

Gym Lights

The Basketball Courts have six light switches. We keep all but one light off in the morning when people are not using the courts. If you ever want more light just ask the Front Desk staff to turn more on and they will be happy to do so. 

Our hallway and lobby lights are turned off daily when the sun comes up and are turned on when the sun goes down. Are there lights in your office that could be turned off during the day when the sun is up due to the amount of natural light you have?

Synthetic Surface

Water Bottle Refill Stations

Dual Flush Toilets

Dual flush toilets are located in the Women's Locker Room. Dual flush allows the patron to choose how much water they need to use. Prior to this we had automatic flush toilets that would often flush twice for one patrons use. This is definitely making an impact!

Paper Towel Stickers

We now have new stickers on ALL of our paper towel dispensers. After working with a SLURP class project in spring 2012 that prompted patrons to use two pumps or eight to ten inches of paper towels, Campus Recreation took SLURPS idea and developed these stickers. The next time you are using paper towels remember they come from trees and only use what you need.

SLURPS Paper Towel Dispenser Project

SLURPS has added a sign to all nine paper towel dispensers at the Malley Center to educate patrons on their paper towel usage. Patrons only need to pump the dispenser twice to receive 8-10 inches of paper towel! Remember these come from trees.

QR Codes & No More Campus Recreation Brochures

In Fall 2009 we stopped printing brochures for fitness classes or intramural sports and have thus saved money on printing and paper costs. Our annual fitness brochures used to be 3 - 4 pages long and we would print over 500 copies.Now, we have laminated copies for each quarter available for viewing at the Malley Center Front Desk. All information can also be found on our website.  What can your department stop printing? 

Campus Recreation has a goal to be zero waste by 2020! Here is what we have been doing to limit our waste:

*NEW* Blue Bins

We also added 5 more blue bins to help you recycle other old things. Recycle your old CD/DVDs, toner cartridges, thin plastic, batteries, and paired shoes here!

Compost Paper Towels

Trash, Recycling, and Compost Bins

Carpet Tiles

December 2009 Campus Recreation (the help from the Facilities Department) installed carpet tiles when replacing the carpet in the hallway and weight room of the Malley Center. The decision was made to choose carpet tiles over rolls so that in the future we would ONLY have to replace the bad tiles vs. all the carpet.

Compost Dryer Lint

Each day we gather approximately a softball size of lint from laundering all the maintenance towels and bath towels from the Towel Service. All of this waste can go into the compost bin with banana peels, compostable coffee cups, etc. What can you compost that you are not? Most items purchased can be recycled or composted- limiting waste.

Donate Old Sporting Equipment

Did you ever wonder where the basketballs go when they have no grip? Campus Recreation donates old sporting equipment from the Malley Center Front Desk's Equipment Check Out and Intramural Sports to local non-profits that work with children such as EMQ Family First, Boys and Girls Clubs, and other non-profits that can benefit from used equipment.

Table Cloths

Fall 2011, we purchased real table cloths for annual events to reuse rather than buying plastic disposable table cloths for each event. This will save money & limit waste into the landfills annually. 

Stop by the Malley Center and check out the latest sustainability poster

In March 2012, Janice DeMonsi, Todd Hammonds, Doug Ewing & Rich Mylin presented at the NIRSA Annual Conference in Tampa, Florida. Their presentation was titled Zero Waste by 2020: What Can I Do?. Zero waste is an achievable goal for campus recreation programs across the country. Learn what YOU can do to make this happen on your campus, and see what other campuses are doing to accomplish this goal. Check out the presentation here.

The Director of Recreation was featured in Office of Sustainability Sustainability Update for the December 2012 edition. To read the article click here.