Recycling and Green Products

Buying products manufactured from recycled materials is an important part of a green purchasing program.  By purchasing recycled products, the University helps to create long-term markets for the recyclable materials collected from the University, where faculty, staff and students live (including on-campus housing) and the institutions that University faculty, staff and students patronize.  The University also promotes new business and employment opportunities and will conserve resources for the future.  To encourage manufacturers to produce more recycled products, demand for these goods must be enhanced and sustained.

One approach to preventing waste may be to change the way a job is accomplished and eliminate a product altogether.  Another may be to purchase a more environmentally sound product to perform the same task. Eliminating products requires faculty, staff and student cooperation and a willingness to step back and review how a product is used to determine if there is a way to change a process or to simply stop a wasteful practice.

Buying Products with Recycled Content

The most important step in recycling, the one where the University can really make a difference, is the purchase of new, recycled content products.  With increased market demand, today’s recycled products offer excellent quality.  Recycled products are often close to or equal in price to products made from virgin materials.  Manufacturing new products from recovered materials saves resources, energy and water, while reducing air pollution and disposal costs.  By further increasing the demand for products made from recycled materials, the University will help to keep these products’ price competitive.  Buying recycled products is critical and one of our most significant recommendations!

The University advocates the purchase of products with the highest percentage of “post-consumer” recycled content.  Post-consumer refers to items that have been used by the consumer, separated for recycling and then made into new materials and products.  While both pre- and post-consumer materials would otherwise be landfilled, post-consumer content is most important, because it creates a market for the items that we recycle at the University and at home.

Current contracts that provide recycled products:

  • Office Depot – Office Supplies contract.
  • Office Depot – Paper contract.  A Green City Partnership with Louisville Metro Government and the Jefferson County Schools.  All copy paper is 30% recovered material and 30% post consumer waste.
  • American Paper & Twine – Envelopes/Specialty paper.  All envelopes are 50% recovered material and 20% post consumer waste.  All paper is 30% post consumer waste.

 

Current contracts that provide recycling of products:

 

Buying Products that are "Green":

  • ASI – energy star appliances in the dormitories.
  • Leonard Brush & Chemicals – Green Seal Certified Cleaning Products carried in University Stockroom.
      • 79300115 - Spartan #4820 Clean by Peroxy Green Solution
      • 79300345 - Spartan Green Restroom Cleaner
      • 79300805 - Spartan disinfectant, green solution
    • Veritiv – Green Seal Certified Cleaning Products carried in University Stockroom.
        • 79300390 - Stride, #027803
        • 79300435 - Glance, #027816
        • 79300590 - Multipurpose Cleaner, Alpha HP #027841
    • Sherwin Williams – Green Seal Certified Paint Products carried in University Stockroom.
        • 80101165 - Interior/Exterior Latex Primer Sealer, B51 Series
        • 80101185 - Exterior Latex Satin, A82 Series, A-100

     

    Buying Products that are Free of Toxins and Pollutions:

    U of L will not purchase and have eliminated the use of products with Triclosan or any of the other prophylactic antibiotics banned by the FDA, including:

    • Cloflucarban
    • Fluorosalan
    • Hexachlorophene
    • Hexylresorcinol
    • Iodine complex (ammonium ether sulfate and polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate)
    • Iodine complex (phosphate ester of alkylaryloxy polyethylene glycol)
    • Nonylphenoxypoly (ethyleneoxy) ethanoliodine
    • Poloxamer-iodine complex
    • Povidone-iodine 5 to 10 percent
    • Undecoylium chloride iodine complex
    • Methylbenzethonium chloride
    • Phenol (greater than 1.5 percent)
    • Phenol (less than 1.5 percent) 16
    • Secondary amyltricresols
    • Sodium oxychlorosene
    • Tribromsalan
    • Triclocarban
    • Triclosan
    • Triple dye