Academy observes Earth Day

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachel Hammes
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The U.S. Air Force Academy observed Earth Day April 22 by holding an informational booth inside the Base Exchange here.

Jeanie Duncan, an environmental technician with the 10th Civil Engineer Squadron here, said she hopes people will take away the concept of reduce, reuse and recycle from this year's observance.

"Don't generate waste, and then you don't have to recycle it. Buy things in bulk, if you can, buy things that have less packaging. If you don't generate the waste, you don't have to recycle it - and recycling is really the end of the line. It's still a good thing, but it'd be best if we didn't buy it and generate the waste in the first place."

That is not to say that the Academy doesn't support recycling, said Brian Gott, also an environmental technician with the 10th CES.

"We have a recycling center at the Academy Community Center. We recycle a lot of industrial-sized batteries, toner cartridges and paper," he said.

The Academy's recycling program recycled 7,719,627 pounds of Academy operations waste last year.

"We have a 50 percent diversion rate - so we're keeping 50 percent of the government waste out of the landfills," Duncan said.

The Academy also works to buy environmentally-conscious materials and equipment.

"We use Green Procurement, which means purchasing items containing recycled content," she said. The 10th CES also reviews construction occurring on base to ensure recycled material is used when appropriate.  "Through our hazardous materials program, we try to have people buy greener products."

The Academy has observed Earth Day for the last 12 years.