by Melissa Ramirez Cooper, ELCA News Service
As environmental sustainability gains momentum as both the next
big trend in higher education and a practical reality with which
administrators must contend, Pacific Lutheran University (PLU),
Tacoma, Wash., is doing its part to reduce its environmental
footprint, according to Amy Cockerham, director of the PLU News
Service. PLU is one of 28 colleges and universities of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
About 40 percent of PLU faculty, staff and administrators
participated in the "Can the Can" event on Oct. 11 by handing
over their trash cans. Participants in the effort forfeit
garbage service by janitorial staff and assume responsibility for
disposing of waste. So far 250 trash cans were voluntarily
turned over in exchange for tiny, desktop containers, said
Cockerham, adding that people will be forced to recycle more by
reducing trash capacity. University policy calls for an increase
in the institutional recycling rate from 65 percent to between 80
and 85 percent within the next five years.
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
