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Published on 11/30/1998 All articles from this issue

Foothill-De Anza District commended for its environmental work

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

The Foothill - De Anza Community College District received special commendation for its pollution prevention programs at the ninth annual Business Environmental Awards Luncheon last month.

"I'm really excited," said David Paulson, fire, life safety and hazardous materials coordinator at the college district. "This is truly a heartfelt thing. We really believe in having a smaller footprint and impacting the earth a little less." This is the first award of this kind the district has won, he said.

Under the leadership of the district's hazardous materials department, Foothill and De Anza colleges have reduced the use of acetone and solvents in chemistry and automotive cleaning processes and keep all treatment on site.

Paulson said the district competed in the large-company category with companies like Apple Computer.

"The quantities of hazardous materials are so much smaller for us than other companies, it was difficult to show our reduction," he said. "We handle waste in one- and two-liter containers, not tank trucks."

According to the awards letter, the district was chosen for its "phenomenal commitment and leadership in environmental issues" and for being an "outstanding model."

Paulson said over the past four years, the district's philosophy has been to stay ahead of the enforcement curve. The district, for example, removed its underground storage tanks three years before it became mandated by law and took measures to control mercury, he said.

Instead of just reducing the use of materials and using less toxic ones, the district is trying to keep "all problems on site, rather than transfer the headache away somewhere else," he said.

Paulson said these measures are trickling into the classrooms, too.

In the chemistry department, students use smaller glassware to reduce the use of acetone. Instead of packaging used acetone in containers to be shipped to landfills, the district purchased a department distillery, where students learn how to recycle the material.

To avoid losing mercury down the drain from classroom thermometers, the district bought digital thermometers.

Paulson said these measures have saved the district money, too. He said disposing of mercury used to cost the district about $5,000 a year.

"It's been exciting to watch," said Paulson about the district's efforts

"We're saving money, improving programs for students and impacting the earth in a positive way. It's a win all the way around."

"Think about the impact on the earth, on the college and other places if all of us can use this as a model, teaching future scientists who will take the idea with them."

The awards program is sponsored by the Peninsula Conservation Center Foundation. This year's ceremony focused on the severe decline in the health of the earth's life support systems and the need for dramatic changes in order to restore nature's balance.

In brief: Students at Springer School raised $58,347 during their annual walk-a-thon last September. They presented the money to school principal Bob Celeste Oct. 22 during the awards ceremony honoring those who walked the most laps. Students at Blach Junior High School donated several thousand pounds of food to the Community Services Agency of Mountain View and Los Altos. The food donations were collected during the school's annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. Students at Homestead High School collected nearly 14,000 food items and toiletries during their annual holiday collection last week. They donated the approximately 6,000 cans of food and $4,500 to the Christmas Store in Sunnyvale.