Johnson City, Tenn., April 24, 2009 – Last April, ETSU students approved a $5 per student, per semester Green Fee, and the students are now seeing some of the benefits of that fee.

The Green Fee is being used to reduce the university’s carbon footprint, and some of the programs already in place include the use of compact florescent light bulbs, a recycling program and new energy efficient windows.

“Our goal is to get ETSU involved,” said Kathleen Moore, director of maintenance of grounds, who is also a permanent, non-voting member of the committee that oversees the use of the fee.

About $120,000 has been collected so far, and about that much is expected each year.  The money will allow for smaller projects the university might not be able to do otherwise, Moore said, and it has gotten students directly involved and concerned with projects and choices.

Newly purchased outdoor recycling bins, paid for with money from the student assessment, were introduced during Earth Week activities yesterday. Next month additional bike racks, purchased with the fee funds, will be installed outside residence halls.

Coming soon: a community garden, a baler and compactor to process material recycled on campus, lighting sensors in Rogers-Stout.

“We have a lot of work that needs to be done,” Moore said in a news conference today. “We’re slowly getting there.”

Any student can offer suggestions for projects to be funded by the fee. Four students are on the committee that reviews suggestions and selects projects to fund.