Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees, 7000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, enough energy to power a house for 6 months.
Facility Management & Campus Operations (FMCO) participated in the DEP Water Challenge from 2018 to 2020. The team successfully achieved the goal of reducing water consumption in the Upper East Side campus by over 5 % and was recognized with a Gold Certificate.
In August 2018, the Department of Environmental Protection launched a voluntary Water Challenge for NYC universities to reduce campus water consumption by at least five percent. The collaborative effort was part of DEP’s Water Demand Management Program to reduce New York City water demand by 10 million gallons per day between 2018 and 2022. Over the course of two years, Weill Cornell Medicine, along with five other participating universities, monitored campus water usage and participated in quarterly water conservation workshops. Partners at DEP assisted with data tracking and connected participants with industry experts and water conservation technical resources. At the end of two years, Weill Cornell Medicine achieved approximately 12% in water reduction corresponding to 19,258,000 gallons in a year, and was elected winner.
The two projects that were tackled as part of the challenge were the installation of autoclave timers in the Belfer Research Building and the installation of low flow toilets in the Lasdon House.