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Food

U Sustain is working to increase the environmentally-friendly food options on campus. Issues from fair trade, organic, and local foods to the use of biofuels and composting are being advanced as quickly as possible.

Ozone Café

Café Ozone is one of the most popular dining locations on campus. The café runs on Fridays from 12:00 - 1:30 PM in the Old Chapel and is supported by student volunteers associated with Environmental Club and Ozone House. Student volunteers work with dining services to provide, fresh, local, and organic entrees to the campus and local community.

The café is busy with a great environment - students, faculty, and staff often sit together for discussion, great food, and often live, local music.

See: Ozone Café for weekly menus.

O3 Marketplace

The O3 Marketplace offers salads, sandwiches, and soups from local and organic ingredients. The produce comes directly from local farmers, helping to support local business. The Marketplace makes fresh fruits, vegetables, and products such as honey and salad dressing available to students, faculty, and staff who may not be able to get to the co-op or farmer's market on a regular basis.

Composting

Dining services now composts all food products and napkins in West College dining hall. The operation is complete with scales so students can see how much food is being composted and has a recycling bin built in - almost all products at the dining hall are either recycled or composted. The compost will then be supplied to Facilities Services for use in fertilizing the campus grounds.

Fair Trade

Dining services now serves only fair trade coffee in its outlets. Fair trade helps assure that the farmers who grow the products get a fair price in exchange for great international coffee.

Biofuels

Dining services now recycles its waste oil for recycling into biofuels used in biodiesel vehicles. Hundreds of gallons of waste oil are now diverted from landfills to clean, closed loop fuels.















 
 
 
 

 

U Sustain seeks to promote sustainability initiatives and educate the campus community about ways to live, work, and enjoy Union in the most environmentally friendly and sustainable ways possible.

 

Academics
In an age of pressing environmental concerns, the government, businesses, and universities need graduates that understand basic environmental concerns and solutions. By incorporating environmental and sustainability education, we empower our students to participate in and strengthen our changing society.

Recycling
Everything we purchase, use, throw away, or recycle has an impact. U Sustain seeks to help you diminish or eliminate that impact as much as possible through recycling, reduction, and reuse.

Energy
Energy is an important component of sustainability and encompasses the electricity that keeps the lights on and the gas that keeps us warm in the blustery Schenectady winter. Knowledge about reducing our energy, and, in turn, our carbon footprint, can enable us all to make a difference.

Food
One way we can all make a difference is by being conscious of what we eat and how we eat it. U Sustain seeks to help us all lower our environmental impact by eating local and organic, buying fair trade, using less packaging, and making vegetarian options appealing.

Financial Resources
Union College is a large economic power - what the college invests in and purchases can make an important statement. U Sustain strives to help the college make the best economic statements possible.

Transportation
Union is a residential, walkable campus, but U Sustain is working on ways to help you get around Union and the greater Schenectady area comfortably, while keeping the environment in mind.