University of
Colorado Student Union
Legislative
Council
September 10, 2008 69LCB5 – Waste
Reduction Revision
Sponsored by: Neil
Walia Representative-at-Large
Authored by: Daniel
Ramos UCSU Chief of Staff
A Bill to Revise the Waste Reduction Bill
Bill History
In
the Spring of 2008, the bill was passed to address the
use of waste for student groups, cost centers and other events funded with
student fees. The bill mandated that default options for such events shall be
either reusable or compostable products, to reduce the amount of waste produced
by the University. The intent of the bill was to develop a plan for this issue
and also find a way to fund these events, then address
problems as we learned the ins and outs of the implementation of the bill.
Throughout the summer, the bill has had a positive reaction from groups on
campus. One issue that came up with the absence of “cost
centers” throughout the bill, to ensure that cost centers know that they fall under
the scope of this bill.
Bill Summary
This bill shall strengthen the language used
throughout the bill to ensure compliance among student groups, cost centers and
other events or groups funded through student fees. This bill adds “cost
centers” to Section 3, Subsection 1 and Section 7.
THEREFORE BE IT
ENACTED:
Section 1: This bill mandates
that all events funded by student fees, including, but not
limited to, cost centers
and student groups, must either use (1) Re-usable china and flatware or (2)
Compostable dishware.
1)
These items include, but are not limited
to, plates, silverware, and glasses.
2)
The only exception is if an alternative
product is unavailable to UMC Catering.
Section 2: In the event an
event is held outside the UMC, the default choice for dishes is
compostable flatware.
Section 3: This bill earmarks a
$35,000 earmark from SOR for additional expenses. The
additional cost of this pilot
program shall not affect student fees or student groups in the cost of their
events. This SOR earmark shall expire two years from its passage, $17,500 per
year, to analyze the increased costs if a waste reduction plan is permanently
implemented.
1)
The Waste Reduction Cost sheet shall be
used by UMC Catering to determine the increased cost to student groups and cost centers for their reduced
waste event. This sheet shall be an addition to the Event Planning packets
given to student groups in helping plan their events.
2)
This sheet shall be submitted to the
Student Organization Finance Office
a.
SOFO shall use this sheet in determining
the increased cost of the event.
b.
This increased cost shall be taken from
the SOR earmark by SOFO.
3)
The increased costs covered by the SOR
earmark include, but are not limited to,:
a.
Increased labor costs
b.
Increased material costs
c.
Increased costs of more frequent compost
hauls
4) Money not used in
this earmark shall remain the in SOR account.
Section 4: Events held in the
UMC with less than 50 people shall have a default choice of
re-usable china and flatware,
though not limited to events under 50 people.
Section 5: The UMC Event Staff
is responsible to scrape excess food from the china plates
into compostable containers.
Section 6: This bill earmarks
$300 from SOR for the purchase of up to two compostable
bins.
1)
The UMC shall monitor the increased need
of compostable bins for the use of UMC and student group events.
2)
Once that demand is identified, the UMC
shall report to the Finance Board to allocate their earmark.
Section 7: UMC Catering and
Events shall enforce this action to ensure the compliance of
student groups and cost centers in implementing the new standard of this
bill.
1)
The UMC, Environmental Center, Events
Planning and Catering and the UCSU Sustainability Director shall work together
in developing this process for a smooth transition for student groups and other
involved parties.
2)
These parties shall report to the
Legislative Council on the first Thursday in December 2008.
a.
This report shall include, but is not
limited to:
i.
How the process is affecting student groups
ii.
The changes made in making a smooth
transition to comply with this bill.
iii.
Increased costs and the status of the
earmark from SOR.
3)
Additional reports to the Legislative
Council shall occur within 4 weeks of the last day of classes.
a.
These reports shall serve as updates
once initial plans and changes are made to uphold student groups to the
standards outlined in this bill.
Section 8: The UCSU Student
Groups Director in partnership with the SGFB Chair shall be
responsible for informing
student groups and addressing any concerns with the UCSU Sustainability
Director.
Section 9: The UCSU
Sustainability Director shall be responsible for ensuring compliance
by groups with this
bill and addressing any changes or difficulties with other members of UCSU.
1) This addition shall
be made to the UCSU Sustainability Director Job Description by the 2008-2009
Tri-Executives.
Section 10: This bill shall take
effect upon passage by the Legislative Council and upon
either obtaining the
signatures of two Tri-Executives or the elapse of six days without action by
the Tri-Executives.
Vote Count
9/11/08 Passed Acclamation
9/25/08 Passed Acclamation
________________________________ ____________________________________
Blaine Pellicore Ryan
Biehle
Legislative Council President Tri-Executive
________________________________ ____________________________________
Dustin Farivar Victoria Garcia
Tri-Executive Tri-Executive