Environmental Stewardship

Harding University acknowledges a God-given responsibility to be deliberate stewards of the blessings He provides. Our stewardship strives to use wisdom in making use of the Creation, acting justly, and honoring the blessings of creation for this present world and for our descendants.

Harding University actively endeavors to balance good stewardship practices with our financial means, in order to fulfill our mission of Christian education.

Reuse

Items have been donated to Habitat for Humanity Restore Shop, Searcy Children’s Home Resale Shop as well as various other local in-need groups.

Reduce

Fuel consumption by encouraging students/staff to ride bikes. Harding has doubled the number of bike racks since spring 2009 with 94 available or planned.

Recycle

Items that are currently being recycled on campus include; paper, press board (packing such as a cereal box), plastic wrap/bags, corrugated cardboard, plastic bottles, aluminum and metal cans, print and toner cartridges, cell phones, kitchen compost material (available to anyone with a home based composting program) metal scraps, electronic devices (computers and accessories, TV’s and anything with a circuit board).

Donation Stations are currently located in each residence hall.

Prior to May 2008, there was no active recycling program on campus. We now have:

- 275 Classroom Recycle Containers
- 534 Public area and/or Outside Recycle Containers

Cost Savings

Currently all recycled waste is given to the City of Searcy. Savings come from reduced dumpster needs. Basically the more we recycle the more we can drive down our dumpster costs by reducing pick up frequency.

What can you do?

1. Help reduce electricity consumption use by turning off unnecessary electronic devices, lights, and reporting broken windows and doors to help stop unnecessary heating or AC leaks.
2. Help reduce wasted water by reporting water leaks to Physical Resources for repair.
3. Stop unnecessary printing, copying and handouts. Pursue electronic alternatives when possible.
4. Recycle paper in your offices and departments by utilizing desk side collection containers.
5. Participate and encourage others to recycle in classrooms and across campus.
6. Help students develop alternative methods for posting paper notices for meetings, events, club functions and elections.