Sustainability is the focus of our efforts right now but the MUSC recycling program has been around for over 15 years and has a long list of accomplishments. Here is a little history:

Accomplishments in a nut-shell

Completed Sustainable projects:

• Geothermal system installed in Anderson House
• Heat Wheel installed in Harborview Tower
• Recycling truck converted to run on Bio-diesel
• Plug-in stations installed for Emergency vehicles
• Over 1K employees commute on CARTA bus
• Chemical management policies are in place
• All fluorescent tubes on campus have been replaced by reduced mercury lamps
• Mercury thermometers have been eliminated
• Eco-Friendly Grounds: Pest Control (IPM), organic fertilizer and indigenous landscaping
• 2.8 million pounds were recycled
• 47,000 lbs of chemical related waste were burned for fuel
• Achieved $335,000 savings on the Medical Center landfill user fee since 1994
• Top 5 in 3 categories of Recyclemania 2008: office paper, cardboard and per capita classic
• MUSC’s recycling program handled 28% of the institution’s FY07 Total Solid Waste.
• The Sustainability Program was created in 2005 and Christine VonKolnitz Cooley appointed Sustainability Manager
• groundbreaking for the First Silver rated LEED building occurred this past Oct 3.

Timeline:

• 1991: The Aluminum Cans for Burned Children Program started. Volunteers were assigned specific boxes to take care of. All money collected from this recycling program pays for non-medical items essential to the recovery of pediatric burn patients at MUSC. ACBC funds have also been used to build mobile firesafety houses for fire and burn prevention education. 
• 1992: The recycling committee was formed and had its first meeting on April 7th. The committee tackled questions like what to recycle, how to recycle, and where to take the commodities collected. Once these questions were answered the committee bought recycling bins for offices, set a training schedule, and set a date for the kick-off party. 
• 1993: The kick-off party was set for Jan 15. The MUSC recycling logo was created in a contest and Dr. Recycle made his debut. Aluminum and scrap metal recycling was joined by cardboard, phone books, and office paper. University housekeeping and hospital environmental services collected paper from desk side bins and put it in 30 yard containers donated by Walmart. A baler for cardboard was brought online in the hospital. MUSC went from recycling 4 tons in three months to recycling 20 tons in three months.  Recycling rate is 1.4%.

• 1994: Some ACBC volunteers left the university and cans bins were being neglected. The paper recycling program ceased to progress and took on a status quo effect. There were still some very good recyclers out there who managed to recycle over 110 tons for the 93-94 fiscal year.  Recycling rate is 2.0%.

• 1995: In March, MUSC hired the first full time recycling coordinator. In June, the first Recycling Assistant was hired. By the end of the year, we were recycling in 18 buildings on campus.  Yard waste, paint, newspaper, books, magazines, six-pack rings, ni-cad batteries, lead-acid batteries, plastic, glass, and steel were all added to the list of recyclables. MUSC recycled over 175 tons for 94-95 fiscal year.  Recycling rate is 4.1%.

• 1996: The recycling office teamed with the legal office to achieve a refund of $28,700 on the user fee bill for 1994 and we saved $34,250 on the 1995 bill due to better record keeping by the recycling program.  Scrap metal was added to the list of recyclables.  By the end of the year, we were recycling in 29 buildings on campus.  We were awarded the Best Collegiate Recycling Award from the South Carolina Clean and Beautiful Organization.  Recycling rate is 10.8%.

• 1997: A $25,580 grant was received from the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management.  The state negotiated with the county to reduce the user fee bill by 25% for a savings of $49,198.  The second recycling assistant was hired in March and the third assistant in May.  By the end of the year, we were recycling in 47 buildings on campus.  We were awarded the Best Collegiate Recycling Award from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.  Recycling rate is 10.3%.
• 1998: A $20,000 grant was received from the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management.  The state received another 25% reduction in the user fee bill for a savings of $56,614.  By the end of the year, we were recycling in 64 buildings on campus.  We added pallets and paint to our recyclables list.  We were awarded the Spotlight Award for Excellence in Waste Reduction and Recycling from the Carolina Recycling Association.  Recycling rate is 12.4%.
• 1999:  We received a $15,000 grant from the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management, a $7,000 demonstration contract from the State Energy Office, and a grant of $15,000 from the Sustainable Universities Initiative to start a new waste reduction program which employs worms.  Please visit the vermicompost page for more information.    We added 4 new buildings to our collection schedule and   a new cardboard baler at the Harper Student Center.  Recycling rate is 13.6%.
• 2000:   We started this year with a press release on the vermicomposting program.   We were featured in an article in the Post and Courier, The State Paper, The Sun News, and the Charlotte Observer.  The program has also been featured in the State Energy Office Newsletter The Energy Connection, the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management South Carolina Recycles Magazine, The Medical University of South Carolina's annual report, the Prudential Charleston Region Newsletter, and the Medical University of South Carolina Division of Finance and Administration Newsletter.  We received a $10,000 grant from the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management to purchase a chipper/shredder and 90 gallon cart dumper.  The grounds crew will use the chipper/shredder to mulch limbs and leaves for the campus.  We put out over 100 new recycling bins and added 7 new buildings to our collection schedule. Recycling rate is 16%.
• 2001: In December 2000, we reduced our staff from 4 and a half to three and a half. Instead of dumping all our office paper into dumpsters we set up 4 stations to house our full 90 gallon carts. A contractor would empty these carts at these locations. This move cut our expenses dramatically. We then added a plastic, glass and steel recycling program to our list of recycling duties.  Charleston County Recycling placed a container on campus for storage and transportation of these recyclables.  The duty of making sure the non-hazardous waste oil was recycled was also added to our repertoire. In August, we added a new program to collect nickel cadmium, lithium ion, and nickel metal hydride batteries. We received a $10,000 grant from the Department of Health and Environmental Control Division of Solid Waste Management to purchase 8-8 yard cardboard recycling containers like the ones you see at fast food restaurants with the slit in them, and more recycling bins to help us help you recycle.   Recycling rate is 20%. Catalyst article
• 2002: We started the year with a 3.7% cut in State funding.  The Recycling Coordinator received the Quest for Excellence First Mate Award from the MUSC Division of Finance and Administration for the fourth quarter of 2001.  A fair amount of time was spent on rewriting and bidding the solid waste contract which was awarded to a new company in April and 24 dumpsters on campus were switched out.  We started the year with low cardboard prices.  The price of cardboard really hurt our recycling efforts.  Toward the end of the year we found market options more favorable, prices and the amount of cardboard recycled were on the rise.  The 8 yard containers for cardboard were purchased and Charleston County started to service them on June 8.  This will free up 8 man hours and we will increase our plastic, glass, and steel collection service. MUSC recycled Quad C and D Buildings, Catalyst Article,  CRA Article. MUSC was featured in an EPA Best Practices for Healthcare Facilities Guide on Reuseable Totes, Blue Wrap and Composting.  In April, the State cut funding again by 2.52%.  Our staff was reduced to two full-time and two part-time employees in the fall of 2002.  Recycling rate is 21%.  
• 2003:  In May, we started transporting all of our office paper to the warehouse on Arco Lane.  Once the paper is there it is emptied from 90 gallon carts into gaylord boxes and stored.  Twice a month the Department of Corrections sends an 18 wheel trailer to pick up the boxes.  All of the paper is then shredded and baled for recycling by DOC. The Hospital Authority started recycling disposable single use medical devises.  The grounds crew started corral composting in January. MUSC Recycling was very busy with publishing information to help other Colleges and Universities learn from our success or from the success of others.  Recycling and Beyond: A College Campus Primer written by MUSC Recycling Coordinator, Christine von Kolnitz and University of Oregon Recycling Coordinator, Karyn Kaplan was published on the internet.  MUSC was featured in an EPA web page "EPA Colleges and Universities Integrated Strategy"  Recycling rate is 26%.
• 2004:  MUSC helped put together the H2E 10 Step Guide to Composting in Healthcare Facilities.  The Aluminum Cans for Burned Children received a $620 donation from Alcoa  see Catalyst Article.  MUSC was sighted for information in a National Wildlife Federation Campus Ecology Vermicomposting Program at Clemson.
• 2005:  The MUSC recycling department received recognition in the form of an article in the Charleston Regional Business Journal.  The grounds crew took over the daily operation of the worm bin in November. MUSC wins EPA Waste Wise Award for Rookie Reporting and an honorable mention in the Collegiate Category.  The CRA Fall R Word announces MUSC EPA Waste Wise Award.  The MUSC Catalyst announced EPA Waste Wise Award.  Office paper recycling went confidential this year.  All office paper is now being handled securely and is being shredded.
• 2006:  This was the first year that MUSC participated in Recylemania, a 10-week long competition among Colleges and Universities around the country. Paper, cardboard and container waste was closely monitored during the 10-week period and totals were reported on a weekly basis. The purpose of this competition was to increase awareness of MUSC’s waste management and recycling efforts among staff and students in a fun and informal format. MUSC also joined a national program called call2recycle which encourages people to safely recycle old cell phones and portable rechargeable batteries. A box is provided to departments free of charge. Once filled, the box can be shipped to the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Cooperation (RBRC) in charge of keeping these toxic items out of our landfills. In April MUSC’s Shredding truck was purchased with funds generated by the recycling program and put into service. Confidentiality became more secure since the paper is shredded as soon as it is collected from the department and stored in the truck until full. The shredded paper is then emptied at Arco Lane where it is prepared for shipment to a paper recycling plant. MUSC became a “smoke-free” campus and designated areas  established for smokers
• 2007: Campus-wide Lights Out campaign was launched. The goal of the campaign was to reduce MUSC’s carbon footprint by educating the MUSC community on global warming. In April, the Sustainability Program was created.  The President’s Climate Commitment was signed by Dr Greenberg and a sustainability Action Plan was drafted: it was presented to the Medical Center Communications team on April 20 and included an employee education program focused on the need to conserve energy, reduce waste, promote reuse and increase recycling on campus. In July, the FY06 recycling figures were recognized by an Award from the Outstanding College and University Waste Reduction/Recycling Program. MUSC recycled a record 27% of solid Waste in FY06.
• 2008:       
• MUSC Sustainability Program was featured on Wellness Wednesday:staff and students had an opportunity to ask questions and pick up free office supplies from the R.O.S.E. (Reusable Office Exchange) Program.
• The February 1 issue of the Catalyst included a front page article about the first sustainable building on campus: College of Pharmacy’s Anderson House was renovated and outfitted with a Geothermal Heat Pump for Climate control.
• MUSC Recycling program reached the Top 5 in three categories among the 200 schools that participated in the 2008 Recyclemania competition.
• Commuter Bus ridership rose by almost 200%. To encourage carpooling, assigned parking became available in August for registered participants. A Farmer’s market took place in the horseshoe every Friday: several local vendors were invited and participated in this effort to buy local produce.
• Research funded by the Sustainable Universities Initiative was successful:
• Dr Michael Schmidt confirmed his hypothesis that Copper is effective in killing bacteria in the Operating Room    http://www.musc.edu/pr/copper.htm 
• Dr May discovered an alternative energy source in Microbial Based Fuel Cells
• Recycling truck was outfitted to run on Bio-Fuel
• MUSC is one of the recipients of the Environmental Justice Achievement Award http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/archive/2008/co10-31epa.html
• 28% of Solid waste was recycled in FY07