By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Being more eco-friendly is catching on at Wind Crest, which is fitting as Earth Day approaches on April 22.

The Facilities Department now uses more energy-efficient light bulbs campus-wide. Dining Services is on board too; it switched to eco-friendly napkins in the Fly’n B Café and paper towels in the kitchen. This move is the result of a corporate partnership with an environmentally friendly consumer goods and paper products company called SCA Tissue.

Another step toward making Wind Crest more “green” is the use of ecofriendly cleaning products campus-wide, says Housekeeping Manager Nicholas Clous: “We’ve switched from traditional cleaning agents to more environmentally friendly products, from glass and bathroom cleaners to disinfectants, room sprays, and other basic cleaning compounds.”

All of this is in addition to existing recycling efforts that staff and residents have embraced since day one, says Clous. “Residents leave recyclable waste outside their doors every Tuesday, and we go around and collect it,” he says. Employees do their part, too, by recycling things like boxes and packaging materials.

“It’s easy to just toss something in the trash rather than take the time to recycle it, but you don’t see a lot of that at Wind Crest,” Clous says. “There seems to be a pretty high level of awareness around here.”