2005 Be Smart Scholarship Winners

Two years ago, Jennifer Ross involved her co-worker in brainstorming a list of ideas for reducing waste at their company. Many ideas could be implemented within a few months; others took longer. Now many new successful waste reduction initiatives are in place. Leather scraps from knife demonstrations are given to a school art department and shipping and packaging materials are reused. Records of advertisements are scanned into a computer and no longer copied on paper. A system for updating mailing lists reduces wasted letters and food used in cutting demonstrations is now given away, not sent to a landfill.

Awareness and implementation of the waste heirarchy at the UW-Milwaukee
Marge Goetsch
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
$500 Be SMART Scholarship

With the goal of raising awareness and prompting actions for better waste reduction and recycling on the UW-Milwaukee campus, Marge Goetsch chose the Nike Reuse-A-Shoe program as a means to get students involved. Proposals and arrangements were made to hold Reuse-A-Shoe collections at residence halls, the children's center and the Union Earth Week celebration. Information was displayed during the collections and students and families completed surveys and pledged to reduce waste. Survey results revealed interest in more convenient recycling on campus, pinpointing the next focus of efforts for Marge Goetsch and the students who share her concerns.

Duplex printing on the UW-Whitewater campus
Samantha Dickman
Whitewater , Wisconsin
Be SMART Honorable Mention Award

Samantha Dickman looked for ways to reduce the high quantity of paper used in campus computer rooms. Her research led her to a device that can be fitted to existing printers that feeds paper for double-sided printing. Permission to test the device was secured and a fundraising sale of pizza coupons was held. The funds were used to buy the duplexer which is now being tested in a UW-Whitewater computer lab. If the test shows that the duplexer is successful for saving money and reducing waste, the University will install more.

Be SMART Conservation Scholarship Project Summaries, December 2005

The Art of Disposal: Frame Shop Waste Reduction
Marisa Rodero
Racine , Wisconsin
$1,250 Be SMART Scholarship

This project considered all of the waste materials created by a frame shop. Marisa Rodero sought new uses for the waste materials and learned that wrappings from suppliers were useful for packing completed orders in the store, a nearby shipping business could reuse packing peanuts, a nature center could use mat board scraps for craft activities and architecture students could use foam core scraps in their models. Arrangements were made to direct the materials to the new users and the store's recycling system was refined. This caused the store's trash to decrease from 300 gallons a week to 100 gallons per week, and the recipients of the materials now use fewer resources and spend less.

Trees and the Environment: How Urban Forestry Reduces Air Pollution
Ryan Edward Agner
Muskego , Wisconsin
$500 Be SMART Scholarship

When the City of Muskego acquired a parcel of farmland, Ryan Agner and his Boy Scout Troop stepped forward to transform the land into a conservation site. Ryan wrote to businesses to raise funds and gather support; then the group planted 1350 tree and shrub seedlings and added mulch, stakes, tree mats and tubes to protect the young plants. The mature trees will prevent erosion, reduce run-off pollution, improve air quality, provide shade and act as windbreaks while contributing to a setting where people can enjoy outdoor recreation. By the year 2030, the trees will have removed 2,476.95 pounds of pollutants and will have stored or sequestered 1,625 tons of carbon dioxide.

Catalog Recycling
Stephanie Weiher
Hartland , Wisconsin
Be SMART Honorable Mention Award

Stephanie Weiher noticed that most of the catalogs her family received were unwanted. After calling catalog companies to remove her family from mailing lists, she wrote a letter to the editor asking readers to do the same. Each family that takes her advice could eliminate over 3 pounds of unwanted catalogs every 2 weeks.