Going Green with NCURA

HOW THE 50th ANNUAL MEETING IS GOING GREEN

All concurrent session handouts that were received are available here

"Most of us are familiar with recycle and reusing, but how often do we think of the third R - REDUCE? 'Reduce' is probably the most important of the three Rs because, if we reduced, it would limit the need to recycle and reuse."
Catherine Pulsifer, from The "Reduce" of Recycle and Reuse

NCURA

During a typical conference, countless amounts of paper, plastic, and food go to waste. The actual amounts that are not reused or recycled can be quite staggering. With the recent awareness that has been given to the amount of waste generated at meetings, NCURA is taking a serious interest in "Going Green".

NCURA will be implementing many of the "green" initiatives at the 50th Annual Meeting. From heading into the paper-less direction, to having water bottles instead of bottled water, to making sure recycling bins are accessible and plentiful on-site at the meeting - these are just a few of the ways we can green this meeting, and help the environment!

NCURA Water Bottles

• It is estimated 60 million water bottles are thrown away everyday in the U.S.
• Approximately 25,000 water bottles were used at last year's Annual Meeting
• By re-filling your NCURA water bottle, you will be saving thousands of bottles and conserving landfill space and oil used in bottle production

What is BPA: BPA or Bisphenol-A is a chemical used in some plastics. It is used to make these plastics, durable, clear and hard. It is also found in pesticides fungicides and other products. Heating plastics with BPA is thought to unleash harmful chemicals into liquids and foods that can be cancerous or toxic.

What is PETE plastic: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE)
PET is clear, tough, and has good gas and moisture barrier properties. Commonly used in soft drink bottles and many injection molded consumer product containers. Cleaned, recycled PET flakes and pellets are in great demand for spinning fiber for carpet yarns, producing fiberfill and geo-textiles.

NCURA Badges

• Badge stock made from recycled paper
• Badge holder made from 100% biodegradable sources
• Bins will be available on-site to recycle both badges and holders

50th Annual Meeting Attendee Bags

Made from 50% recyclable materials

Ideas for reusing your bags:

• Store your conference materials and DC souvenirs on the way home
• Keep your bag handy for errands, and conserve plastic bags
• Use for the gym, vacation, and grocery shopping

NCURA Session Handouts

• By posting session handouts online, rather than printing, NCURA will save over a quarter of a ton of paper.

* This is equivalent to NCURA saving approximately 6 trees that are 40 ft tall and 6-8 inches in diameter. (Calculation based on information from conservatree.com)

Preliminary Conference Programs Online

• By posting preliminary programs online over the last ten years, NCURA has saved over 5 tons of paper
• 5 tons of paper is equal to approximately 120 trees that are 40 ft tall and 6-8 inches in diameter (based on information from conservatree.com)
• To visualize 5 tons of paper, imagine each sheet stacked on top of one another. This stack would be 329 feet tall, which is 24 ft. taller than the Statue of Liberty!