Eastern Illinois University Sustainability - What You Can Do

Keep Up the Good Work

Over the years, Eastern Illinois University has accomplished a great deal of progress in the area of sustainability, and none of it would be possible without the participation of its students, staff and faculty.

For instance, your participation is crucial to Eastern's recycling efforts, which have now seen more than a million pounds of waste material recycled for 12 straight years. In FY10, we recycled 34.6 percent of the nearly 3.2 million pounds of waste created at EIU.

It's not just the recycling efforts that are impressive, either. The university has cut back from the all-time high of 4.09 million pounds of waste created in FY99. In FY09, our total waste total of 3.04 million pounds was the lowest it has been since Eastern's recycling program was initiated in FY93.

EIU's water consumption is also down 50 million gallons per year over the last decade, while campus energy consumption has been cut in half. Student, staff and faculty participation has also been vital in the university's 2010 Tree Campus USA designation and the success of the Panther Shuttle program.

While all of this is excellent news and progress in which the entire campus community can take pride, there's plenty more we can all do. Within this section of the website, you'll find some examples and ideas of how you can help EIU continue its goal of being as environmentally friendly as it possibly can.