Mount Allison University in Sackville has implemented a number of environmentally friendly initiatives on its campus, including a used goods donation program, biodegradable take-out containers, and a sustainable residence.

Many of the initiatives were pushed for by the students, who want to make their mark academically, not leave one on the planet.

Last April, as people were packing up to leave for the summer, student Nicholas Dube got to thinking about trash when he found a discarded laundry basket, filled with unused items.

"I pulled that out of the garbage and started pulling out the food items," Dube said. "And as I was going through there were just so many other things. People were throwing out clothes and really good stuff."

New Move Out Day program

Dube and some friends carted it down to the Salvation Army. This April, the university will take Dube's initiative much farther with its new program, Move Out Day.

The Salvation Army will bring in a truck to collect anything with some use still in it, and even half full bottles of shampoo, that students don't want to pack up. The program should divert 50 to 60 bags of garbage from the landfill.

Mount Allison also plans to reduce food waste from the cafeteria. In fall 2007, the university will start a sorting and scraping station. Instead of students just putting their trays on racks, they'll have to scrape their plates clean. The hope is the practice will open students' eyes to how much food is being wasted, so they'll only pick up as much as they'll eat.

Last month, the vegan and vegetarian cafeteria options at Mount Allison got the school ranked the fifth most vegetarian-friendly university in Canada, according to Peta2, the youth wing of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Biodegradable food containers

The cafeteria also offers biodegradable containers made from corn, wheat and starch that disintegrate after 45 days.

Administrator Michelle Strain is an environmentalist, but also a skeptic. She had her doubts about the packaging. She dug a hole, put in a container, and to her delight, she says by day 45, it had disappeared.

"We're fortunate to have a lot of staff at Mount Allison and students who have personal commitments to environmentally friendly practices," Strain said.

But the centre of Mount Allison's green thinking is its sustainable residence, Campbell Hall. Students dress in layers and keep the heat turned low; they grow their own herbs, hang-dry their clothes, and buy in bulk to reduce packaging. The design of Campbell Hall exceeded the Model National Energy Code for Buildings by 30 per cent, winning the residence a federal energy award in November. Mount Allison is so far the only New Brunswick university to receive that distinction.

Student Natalie Gerum says the structure itself doesn't have too many features that you wouldn't find in your normal home.

"But that, in a way, is what we found interesting, because it means what we're doing here could be applied to anyone's house," Gerum said.