Attendees: Tracy Artley, Alec Cooley, Mark Darling, Judi Gard, Judi Dunn Gray, Rob Gogan, Deb Hanson, Mary Jensen, Ed Newman, Becky Valentich, Christine Von Kolnitz Cooley
Absent: Jack Debell, Dana Donatucci
1. Retreat Agenda
Mary will forward her draft of the agenda for the CURC retreat to the steers. Steering committee members are encouraged to send Mary questions and additions to the agenda. Mary suggested that those going to the retreat review CURC’s mission statement prior to arriving in Portland.
Mary stated that she sees the retreat as an opportunity to look at CURC 5- and 10-year plans. They will discuss looking for new leaders and recruiting for elections instead of focusing on specifics of what will be done this year. There will be a facilitator at the retreat and a note taker will be available.
At the retreat, the group will discuss which resources should be available for free and which ones will be member-only. Alec noted that membership is a big item that’s been discussed and suggested that the group might want to have a detailed discussion in Portland. It was suggested that the Steering Committee arrive in Portland with a list of suggestions and that ideas be forwarded to one person to compile the ideas.
2. Resource Guide
The resource guide was assembled by Judi Gard and Deb Hanson. Dana has a student who is organizing the guide and Tracy will determine the formatting of the guide for the website. Mary has a student who will ensure that the links work and will rename them from their website address to an actual title of the content.
3. CURC Elections
Last year, information about the elections was sent out in March, with the elections happening in April. Judi Dunn Gray offered to assist with this year’s elections. Part of the election work will be an update of who is up for re-election.
4. Congress Planning
Ed suggested having a place on the CURC website where members can submit ideas. Becky suggested having a link on the RecycleMania website that would link back to CURC. Jack suggested encouraging schools in Pennsylvania to attend at least a portion of the Congress. He also suggested letting people know the dates now so that they can start planning to attend. Alec reported that he has done some legwork to find close schools to encourage them to attend. Mary reviewed the general schedule of the CURC workshop. The title will be “Working Toward Zero Waste.” In anticipation of feedback from the CURC community, Ed suggested calling it “Working Toward 35% Waste” or “Working Toward 12.7% Waste.” Discussion ensued on the workshop and the CURC-specific sessions. Rob suggested having a topic in the future on the LEED certification for Existing Buildings.
5. Work Plan
Alec sent the version of the work plan that was submitted to the NRC Board to the CURC Steering Committee. Alec noted that this year’s plan was pared down from what CURC has traditional done. Past plans have been much more detailed than this year. The NRC Board requested an executive-summary style of a work plan instead of the detail provided in past years. He stated that it makes sense for CURC to have an in-depth version of the work plan to guide activities for the year. Mary inquired about NRC’s goals and how CURC fits into those goals. Christine inquired about the grant money received for the speakers’ bureau. Alec replied that given the number of projects CURC is currently involved with, it makes sense to hold off on the speakers’ bureau until more staff time can be devoted to it.
Mary reviewed what went into the work plan. The notes that she took in Denver went into the work plan. Christine noted that the suggestion that RecycleMania participants having ability to access CURC resources was not included. Mary will review the last 12 months of minutes for items to include in the work plan. The work plan has gone to the Finance Committee and the NRC Board will review the work plan at the Portland retreat. Alec noted that there will be little time to meet with the Board. Alec will suggest that the Board have lunch with the CURC Steering Committee.
Ed suggested that NRC Congress scholarships go to students working in campus recycling departments. Mary noted that this is not specified in the work plan. Alec suggested that he and Mary discuss the timing of topics on the retreat’s agenda.
6. RecycleMania
Ed thinks CURC just missed the boat about allowing RecycleMania participants to access CURC materials. The actual competition seems to be rolling well. Rob praised the peer group tool. Alec mentioned that a number of schools have yet to report anything and each week, more schools are dropping off the radar. A lot of outreach has been done to these schools individually to find out what the problem is. In many cases, it’s overwhelmed recycling coordinators and dining hall mangers and people who were not prepared for the reporting requirements. Alec noted that it will be important to the competition to prepare newcomers. Becky shared the work it took her to prepare for participating in RecycleMania. Alec stated that he is confident that 85%-90% of the rankings are accurate or is confident that the accuracy issues will be figured out. He noted that many of the schools at the bottom of the rankings have weird numbers. He concluded by discussing either auditing or sending an affidavit to the top ranked schools to ensure that they are following the rules. This will force recycling coordinators to check off point by point that they are paying attention to the rules.
Ed asked Alec to discuss the relationship with the NCAA. Alec reported that April with Coca Cola has been talking with the NCAA; there will be a non-televised press conference on the day between the end of the Final Four and the Championship game. Media from around the world will be present. Rob suggested that RecycleMania participants who are in the NCAA tournament be noted. Discussion ensued on the possibility of getting a player or a coach to do something related to RecycleMania. Alec will have April join next week’s RecycleMania call.
7. Announcements
Alec noted that Busch Systems will be offering the winning style of recycling bin from last year’s contest at a discounted price to CURC and RECYC-L members. Bins will be $44 a piece through Earth Day. Alec will send out an announcement to the listserves.
8. Adjourn
The call adjourned at 3:25 pm EST.