Feature Articles

It Ain't Easy Being Green…
by David White, Customer Service Bibliographer

But we're working on it! When ideology and pragmatism combine, change can't be far behind. Over the past several years, YBP has begun to examine ways to reduce energy consumption and increase the amount of material that we recycle. Number one on our list has been corrugated cardboard. While we receive most of the books from our parent company, Baker & Taylor, in plastic totes these days, we still receive many books from other suppliers in boxes. YBP has a large dumpster that is sent to the recycler several times a week.

YBP has also recycled paper for a long time. In the early years, blue bar computer paper had to be separated from regular white paper, and colored paper could not be accepted. Large bins of recycled paper were picked up by a local charity to raise funds. Now, new recycling processes have allowed us to combine all recyclable paper into the same bins.

We've also recycled aluminum cans for many years, but with the large numbers of juice and water plastic containers now in use, we have set up collection locations throughout the building for these as well.

YBP recently implemented a program to properly recycle or dispose of dry cell batteries, rechargeable dry cell batteries, cell phone and pager type batteries. This includes disposal of personal household batteries. While just beginning, it allows for recycling and proper disposal of these potentially hazardous items.

We also work to conserve water (we have our own well) by using low flow toilets, placing aerators on faucets throughout the building, and by not watering the lawn.

For lighting in our Contoocook, NH facility, we use two types of fluorescent lighting. We use both two bulb and three bulb models, depending on where in the building the area is, and how much natural light is available. Each type of light can be set up to use fewer bulbs if needed. This allows us to tailor the lighting solution to the specific area and minimize energy consumption while providing adequate lighting levels. Many of the offices in the building also have occupancy sensors that automatically shut off lights when no one is using the office.

In April, YBP celebrated Arbor Day by picking up and selling several hundred trees to employees. The event was used as a fund raiser for our Activities Committee, and all the trees were gone in a short time. Next year we plan to expand the program with a greater variety of trees available.

In June, members of YBP's Go Green team initiated a "plant swap". Gardeners from throughout the company brought in surplus plants from their gardens and swapped them with others for other plants. Turnout was good and all the plants were gone in short order.

The Academia staff would be interested to hear what energy-saving programs our readers have initiated. If we get enough responses, we'll do a follow-up feature highlighting some of the ideas.