Towson University strives to follow programs to raise awareness about and reduce energy consumption.
TOWSON, Md. — The increase in the world’s energy consumption and the potentially devastating effects have sparked concern among schools across the US. As a result, almost every campus in America has taken the initiative to go green, Towson University being one of them.
The Go Green Initiative was a non-profit organization established in 2002 due to a parent’s concern for the amount of waste being generated at their children’s school, and the use of unsafe pesticides in their community. It is a grassroots environmental program meant to bring parents, teachers and students together to create a culture of conservation on campus. It encourages everyone to evaluate their environmental impact and provides tips on how to recycle and save energy. It has been implemented in every state of America, and has escalated globally, reaching schools in Canada, Mexico, Asia, Europe and Africa. In fact, according to the Go Green website, there are currently 1.5 million students and teachers registered.
Towson understands the importance of sustaining the environment through energy conservation and recycling. Students and faculty members have teamed up to create programs to promote environmental awareness, increase recycling and decrease energy consumption.
The Go Green Orientation is a program in which incoming freshman can learn more about the environment and the initiatives being taken at Towson University to increase recycling and decrease energy consumption.
RecycAll is the university’s single-stream recycling system meant to eliminate the need to separate items that would have previously been thrown away. There are currently 3,500 RecycAll containers placed in and around the entrances of academic and administrative buildings, dining halls, residence halls and parking garages.
Trayless Tuesdays is a program aimed toward energy conservation. Every Tuesday the Glen and Newell dining halls go trayless to reduce food waste and decrease the energy and water used to wash the trays.
From Nov. 1 to Nov. 24, Towson invited the Maryland Energy Administration Exhibit to set up their interactive display on the second floor of the University Union. Participants can walk through and get a better understanding of how energy consumption affects them, how they can make small changes to save energy, and ultimately, take one step closer to sustaining the environment.
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