THE FULL CIRCLE PLEDGE

Click here for a printer-friendly version of the pledge for signing

*** IMPORTANT NOTICE*** Medical School Housekeeping WILL pick up from departments individually - please call Lita Baptiste in Housekeeping (588-5552) to let her know that your departments's bin is full (we ask that you try to combine all paper from the department into one bin to make the Housekeeping staff's job easier). We are currently working on establishing a regular pick up system and will keep you informed as to the progress and implementation of this program.

Thank you to the following departments for adopting the Full Circle Pledge!!

Office of Student Affairs

Student Government

Interdisciplinary Programs

Graduate Medical Education

Family and Community Medicine

Pharmacology

Neuroscience

Tulane Cancer Center

Foundations in Medicine

Office of Educational Research and Services

TUHSC Financial Aid

Office of Medical School Admissions

Affiliated Services - Billing

Associate Dean's Office

In the interest of respecting and preserving our environment and the health of the people who inhabit it, Tulane’s Environment and Medicine Committee asks that you sign a pledge saying that it will be your department or group's policy to:

• Use at least 30% post-consumer recycled paper in all department printers, copiers, and copy or printing orders from all suppliers, including the printshop, as often as economically feasible.

• Have and use a departmental paper-recycling bin for white paper only, no shredded or color paper. Please compile into one bin per department and call Housekeeping for pick-up.

• Look for ways to reduce paper waste within your department (including posting things on the web, using double-sided copying, reducing margins, font size, and line spacing etc.)

These are three very simple things that can have a significant impact on your budget as well as the environment.

We ask you to either sign and enforce the pledge or tell us why you cannot, so that we can work with you to help make it possible.

If you have any further questions on the Full Circle Pledge or environmental practices at Tulane, please contact Jacquie Firth or Amy Vaughn at cmig@tulane.edu.

As mentioned above, the original pledge has been modified - Medical School Housekeeping WILL pick up departmental bins (but please compile this into one bin per department for pick up). Once collected from the centralized locations, the paper is recycled by Legacy, Inc.

TIPS ON HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THE FULL CIRCLE PLEDGE

Following the environmental principles of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” has always been economical in the long-term, but we are working with other departments in Tulane to make it even more affordable in the short-run. For example:

• Tulane Printshops in the Medical School and Tidewater Buildings offer copies on 30% post-consumer recycled paper at the EXACT SAME LOW PRICE. For copies ordered through departments or via an IT the price for copies is 5 cents a page - however if you request double-sided copying, the second page will only cost 4 cents. For cash orders, the cost is 7 cents per page (no discount on the second page).

• The Printshops and Purchasing are working on offering 60% and possibly 100% post-consumer recycled paper - look for more information on this offer in the coming year. The Printshops also carry colored recycled paper (30% post-consumer pastel paper, 10 cents/page; 20% bright colored paper, 12 cents/page).

• Office Depot offers its own brand of 35% post-consumer recycled paper at the EXACT SAME LOW PRICE as its virgin paper - $21.44/carton. They also offer Great White brand 30% post-consumer at $23.00/carton.

• Tulane Purchasing is looking into supplying departments that currently buy from their stores with some higher-percentage recycled paper. Contact Mr. William Van Cleave at wvanclea@tulane.edu for more information.

• If your department does not have a bin, please contact the E&M Committee at cmig@tulane.edu.

• If you would like to report that you bin is full and needs to be emptied, please contact Lita Baptiste in Medical School Housekeeping at 588-5552 or Carol Ardenaux, the Tidewater Building Manager, at 585-6100.

• Reducing margins, font size, and line spacing can greatly decrease the amount of paper used by your department - simply change the page settings in whichever word processing program you use (and save them as your template) and watch the number of pages magically decrease!

• More and more students, faculty, and staff are using the web as a resource - consider sending important announcements via email or posting them on a webpage. And if you post class or other materials on your page that many people will print out on their own, please make the spacing and font size amenable to printing - or post a pdf option so that others do not have to spend their time reducing the amount of paper used in printing out. If you need help setting up pdf files, please contact the Photography and Digital Imaging Department at photo@tulane.edu - they also have a good deal on the required software.

Why Buy Recycled?

Using Recycled Paper Saves Resources and Trees

Conservatree, a national authority on recycled paper, estimates that approximately 7.2 full grown trees are saved for every 40 cases (or 1 ton) of 30% postconsumer recycled paper purchased instead of virgin fiber paper. The U.S. EPA estimates that this amount of recycled paper also saves 2000 kilowatt hours of electricity, 3000 gallons of water, and keeps 30 pounds of air pollution out of the sky. (Note: When purchasing 100% postconsumer recycled paper, these figures on the amount of resources conserved increase threefold)

Recycled Paper Makes a Difference

Real recycling is a closed loop. It not only involves putting used paper in the correct bins but also requires using recycled paper to close the loop. Unfortunately, recycled paper only represents between 7 - 9% of the printing and writing paper market. This means that new trees are continually being harvested to support our paper consumption habits. In fact, according the Worldwatch Institute, 19% of the world's wood harvest is used to make paper. Using recycled paper lessens the pressure put on natural resources and helps to keep functioning ecosystems intact. In addition, it helps to preserve landfills, supports recycling markets, and bolsters the economy.

Save Landfill Space

According to the EPA, paper and paperboard represent 38.1% by weight of the municipal solid waste stream. When the materials that you recycle go into new products, they don't go into landfills or incinerators, so scarce landfill space is conserved.

Save Money and Create Jobs

Recycling and remanufacturing produce substantially more jobs than landfilling or incinerating -- usually at a lower cost to local government and residential and business ratepayers. In fact, according to Californians Against Waste, recycling results in up to 36 times more jobs than landfilling.

Going Beyond Paper

There are a variety of recycled products in the marketplace including recycled lumber, pencils, shoe laces, clothing, plastic lumber and much more. All of these products support the recycling process and conserve natural resources.