A Green Moment: Recycling at Emory

Decatur Electronics Recycling Day: If it’s time for you to recycle old electronics, Styrofoam, and safely shred and recycle personal documents then go to:

• LOCATION: Decatur Public Works, on 2635 Talley St. (off Columbia Drive )
• WHEN: March 21st 9am-1pm
• MORE INFORMATION: Sean Woodson, Solid Waste Superintendent, 404-377-5571 or www.decaturga.com.MoreInfo

Note: Recyclables must be dropped off during the hours of the event. Early drop-offs are not possible.

It’s “March Madness” at the Emory Surplus Store – All items are 50% Off. Visit the Emory Surplus Store on the Briarcliff Campus and you’ll find used office furniture, bookcases, filing cabinets and so much more already on sale.

Remember the Water Reclamation Facility stories that told of its coming? It has finally arrived. Called The WaterHub, this facility is getting all kinds of attention. Our most recent visitor was Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA, and she was very impressed and excited about the potential. Tours are being slated and the next one is for 3/18 at 11am – there’s a Google sign-up link below to make your reservation.

Here’s how it works:

• The Waterhub takes raw wastewater, which is filtered and circulated through dense curatins of real and synthetic plant roots in chambers both with and without air.
• The water then flows to another installation behind the Beta house, into an outdoor concrete space that continues the breakdown alongside a demo project for a tidal wetlands system.
• Finally it returns to the WaterHub for a ‘polishing’ (State of GA requirement) that includes UV light exposure for sterilization and a wee bit of chlorine.
• Once the 18-hour process is complete, the water is used for Emory’s steam and chiller plants, and it provides the flush water for commodes in Raoul Hall (on campus housing).

Full production is expected to commence in late spring, once the plant roots have grown to meet the need. There are no plans to use it as drinking water, but it will be used to replenish evaporation with the chillers, provide flush water and possibly be used for outdoor watering. The goal is to reduce Emory’s dependency on county water by 30%, AND it provides a living lab for students and faculty to learn from that spans all the science disciplines. It’s a pioneer technology that puts Emory on the map as the only location in the country to have one (word on the street is that a number of Universities are looking our way).

Want to go on the tour? Open your Google account (or get one) and then RSVP here. A maximum of 20 people can attend the tour at one time, therefore if the March 18th 11 a.m. tour is full, leave your name on the Google form to be contacted for the next tour.