Graduation gowns promote recycling

CW/ Joe Will Field

Next weekend, 5,781 undergraduate and master’s students will walk across the stage in Coleman Coliseum at the University of Alabama commencement ceremonies. They’ll be receiving their college diplomas, a certification for years of studying and hard work, but they’ll also be saving a combined 132,963 plastic bottles from being buried in the ground.

The black caps and gowns worn by each and every graduate is composed of 100% recycled plastic, salvaged from bottles that were dumped into landfills across the eastern coast of the U.S.

The GreenWeaver cap and gown sets are produced by the Virginia-based regalia company Oak Hall. The idea for sustainable caps and gowns was first conceived by the company’s president Joe D’Angelo in 2009 at a University of Washington dining hall.

“Joe and our vice president, Donna Hodges, were going over how the presentation went, and Joe looked down and saw where they were using bamboo utensils in an effort to get away from plastic utensil,” said Lee Beekman, sales and marketing manager at Oak Hall. “All of the sudden, the wheels started turning.”

The original plan was to make the caps and gowns out of bamboo, but after preliminary testing didn’t yield positive results, the focus shifted to utilizing post-consumer plastic. Oak Hall partnered with Unifi, a company that specializes in turning plastic bottles into recycled polyester fabric, to create the GreenWeaver line of caps and gowns. Once Unifi collects the plastic bottles, they feed them into a machine that Beekman compared to a wood chipper to turn the plastic into usable fibers.

It takes an average of 23 plastic bottles to make each cap and gown set, so for every 100 students that wear the GreenWeaver gown, 2,300 bottles are saved.

In the first year that Oak Hall offered the recycled gown to colleges, a little under 100 schools purchased them. Now, the GreenWeaver gowns are worn by students during commencement at 500 different colleges across the U.S. Not only has the eco-friendly product helped prevent waste, it has also been a boom for Oak Hall.

“The sustainable approach really kind of brought a second wave of productivity to our company and put us on the forefront of doing this and being part of a bigger picture, which we’ve really enjoyed,” Beekman said.

The UA Supply Store first started offering the GreenWeaver caps and gowns in 2010.

“We like using the GreenWeaver [caps and gowns] because environmentally it is a good thing,” said David Cowdery, the associate director of the Supe Store. “Lately, there’d been so much talk about how much plastic bottles end up in the ocean and landfills, so I think as we grow more awareness, I think the students will recognize that it’s neat that we’re doing that instead of a regular cap and gown.”

Beekman mentioned that Oak Hall has a program for students to turn in their caps and gowns after graduation for them to be recycled once more. However, Oak Hall is still trying to develop this program, and it is not currently present on Alabama’s campus.

Since the caps and gowns are made from plastic, students are warned not to iron them or expose them to any intense heat. Instead, students are advised to hang the gowns in the bathroom during a warm shower to let the steam work out any wrinkles.

Even though the Supe Store has been selling GreenWeaver caps and gowns since 2010, Cowdery still doesn’t think most students know what they’re made of. Graduating senior Sophia Warner was unaware that they were composed of recycled plastic, but is proud to see the University making sustainability a priority.

“I had no clue,” said Warner, an international studies major. “This is great news though. We should keep doing this from now on and should try to invest in other ways that we can be more sustainable as a campus.”

UA’s Recycling Efforts Help Environment, Bottom Line

The University of Alabama’s efforts in recycling are having a positive effect on both the environment and the bottom line.

Recycling earns UA revenue.

UA’s recycling program provides jobs, offers an economic impact through the sale of recycled material and helps to educate students, said Tony D.  Johnson, UA senior executive director for logistics and support services.

“I am so very thankful for the involvement and participation we receive from our students, faculty and staff,” Johnson said. “Their efforts of placing recycling materials in the correct bins and their involvement contributes to our success.”

UA has thousands of recycling containers around campus with hundreds of collection points. In the fiscal year 2018, one ton of recycling materials brought in an average of $201.53. By the numbers:

• Tons of recycling diverted from the local landfill: 1,439.77.
• Revenue generated from the sale of recycling materials: $184,287.6.
• Landfill fee savings ($28 x 1,439.77 tons recycled): $40,313.56.
• Performing inhouse shredding services (free to departments): $65,560.
• Total revenue + cost savings: $290,161.17, or $201.53 per ton.

Using the most efficient methods also counts. By baling cardboard, sorted office paper and mixed paper, the recycling program receives higher prices for these recycling materials. In addition, this process helps reduce UA’s carbon footprint by sending out a full tractor-trailer load of recycling materials all at once.

UA also pursues other cost-saving methods that don’t factor into the recycling program. For example, UA works with departments so they will order less paper, and with the purchasing department to place Requests for Proposals to use a certain size pallet. Those pallets can later be sold to a vendor for $2 each.

Many organizations perform bin audits to determine the amount of recycling items that go into the landfill. UA uses these processes as well. UA audits delivery trucks coming on campus so staff members can plan to recycle those items. The department gives three tours a week to students, faculty and off-campus businesses, Johnson said.

UA provides a drop-off area for both students living off campus and members of the community to recycle aluminum, paper, glass, plastic and other items.

The department also has applied for grants to support sustainability initiatives. Over the last five years, UA has been awarded $291,609 in grant funds. These awards have contributed to the success of sustainability programs on campus. Organizations are encouraged to maintain records of the amount of recycling materials.