Be spartan green

MSU's Efforts Towards a Greener Environment

By avdoulos

  • Nation Celebrates the First Earth Day

  • MSU Experiments with Glass Recycling

  • First Red Cedar River Clean Up

    A tradition that still happens today! Students rally together to clean up our favorite river!

  • Environmental Quality and Aesthetics Task Force established

    This group was established to advise the city on the environmental impact of proposed projects and existing problems regarding the environment.

  • Recycling collection bin put across from Anthony Hall and next to the Judging Pavillion

  • MSU Clean Up Day

    During National Collegiate Pitch-in-Week, the MSU Waste Control Authority organized a clean up day in which students would be able to help clean up the Red Cedar River and the surrounding area of the MSU community.

  • Initiative to plant seeds around campus

    Milton Baron, then director of MSU's Division of Campus Parks and Planning, established the initiative to plant seeds all around campus to make MSU more park-like and "green".

  • Recycling unit expands

    The Waste Control Authority opened a new 45x65 foot warehouse to house paper that is to be recycled.

  • Waste Control Authority discontinued the recylcing service

    The University said that it was too expensive to recycle so in 1975 they would discontinue the service. In 1974, the University recycled 1.5 million pounds!

  • Newspaper recycling receptacles located at Berkey Hall, Demonstration Hall, and Spartan Village

  • "Pick 'Em Up" program begins

    Run by the Miller Brewing Company, this program promoted the recycling of beer bottles and cans. This was held as a competition among registered campus groups.

  • Water Quality Managment Project Established

    Under this program, waste water would be piped from East Lansing's sewage treatment plant to the campus facility for natural processing and reuse. The waste would then act as compost to irrigate land for plant growth.

  • Earth Day becomes recognized world-wide

  • REsources Newspaper Established

    Created by the Office of Recycling and Waste Reduction, this newspaper was printed on 100% recycled paper and attempted to connect with students on issues of recycling and keeping our environment healthy.

  • United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro

  • University Committee for a Sustainable Campus established

    This committee was formed to evaluate the ecological impact of MSU's teaching, research, and service with the having the goal of reducing the university's consumption of natural resources.

  • Recyclemania Established

    RecycleMania is a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. It was established in 2001, but MSU didn't start competing until 2011

  • Recycling program in the residence halls implemented

    Sponsored by RHA, this recycling program places collectoin bins in each dormitory. This makes it easy for students to recycle!

  • Campus groups work to expand MSU's recycling

    Student groups such as the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment "RISE" and Eco pushed to raise awareness about Earth Day by having a large rally at the rock.

  • The new recycling plant completed

    In an effort to stay Green, MSU built a brand new recycling plant

  • Caps and Gowns made of recycled material

    In an effort to stay environmentally friendly, MSU made all caps and gowns out of recycled material. This would cost each student $30, which was drastically lower than the previous prices of graduation gowns.