Campus gets a little bit "greener"

Campus gets a little bit "greener"

In several campus kitchens, workers have begun scraping leftover grease or oil from cooking pans into large buckets before putting the pans in the dishwasher.

That gesture alone keeps five gallons of grease per day, per location out of the sewer system, said Clint Jeffries, UCSC food service manager.

"That makes a big difference," said Jeffries, adding that the collected materials eventually become biodiesel.

The grease-collection buckets are part of UCSC's newest "green" certifications from the Monterey Bay Area Green Business Program, administered by the City of Santa Cruz. At the November 13 City Council meeting, the city will recognize certifications for three new campus locations: Porter/Kresge Dining Hall, Cowell/Stevenson Dining Hall, and University Catering.

Crown/Merrill Dining Hall and Banana Joe's Café are already certified. In the works for future certification are Owl's Nest Café, Terra Fresca, and College 9/10 Dining Hall.

"It really makes sense," said Jeffries. "We want to do our part and make as little an impact on the environment as we can. We serve a lot of people, so by doing our part we're having a pretty big effect."

To read more about it, please visit the original article.