ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH and SAFETY

BEAR

in MIND October 2019 VOLUME 21, ISSUE 4

Campus Recycling

Program 1

Stormwater 2

Household Hazardous

Waste 2

Prescription Drug

Takeback Day 3

Handwashing/Flu

Season 3

Holiday Safety Tips 4

Daylight Savings Ends 4

Inside this Issue

Dates to Remember

Safe Thought

Campus Recycling Program

UNC has always recognized the importance of

recycling and taken pride in supporting many green

initiatives. There are numerous recycling programs

that UNC supports such as aluminum cans, bottles,

newspapers, paper, card board, batteries and many

more. There are various labeled bins located

throughout the campus community. Please help by

continuing your environmental stewardship by

recycling as it makes a difference to our campus

community while protecting our natural resources.

Did you also know that UNC takes part in special recycling programs such as event

recycling, campus surplus and end of semester donations? To learn more about

these recycling programs please visit The UNC Sustainability Website.

For information on locations and types of bins that UNC has on campus visit the

Custodial Services website.

For information and tips on recycling visit this helpful article, How To Recycle in

Weld County.

October 14-Columbus Day (Campus

Open)

October 26—Prescription Takeback

October 31– Halloween

November 3—Daylight Savings

Time Ends

November 11–Veteran’s Day

(Campus Open)

November 28—Dec 1

Thanksgiving Break (Campus

Closed)

December 9-13—Finals Week

December 13-14—Commencement

December 21-January 1—Holiday

Break (Campus Closed)

“Light up your holiday

tree, not your home; use

approved decorations and

lights.”

Don’t be Trashy, Protect our Waterways! If you have ever walked along one of our local rivers here in

Northern Colorado, at some point you’ve probably noticed trash on

the river banks, sand bars, or floating down the river. According to

the EPA, there is an 80% chance that the trash you saw originated

in a city or town, was carried by stormwater to a storm drain, then

transported to the river. Stormwater is not treated before it goes

to the river, so whatever goes into storm drains eventually goes to

the river.

Trash doesn’t just make our waterways look bad, it can also be

harmful to aquatic life. Discarded cigarette butts can introduce

heavy metals and micro-plastics into our waterways. Tom Novothy,

a researcher at San Diego State University, showed that one cigarette butt in a liter of water has enough toxic

properties to kill a fish. Plastic waste in water can introduce BPA and styrene, which can disrupt reproductive

processes and is a suspected carcinogen to aquatic life. Trash in our waterways can be a choking hazard for both

terrestrial and aquatic life, it can also accumulate in their digestive systems and if they ingest enough, it can

eventually kill them.

As always, there are things that you can do to help protect our waterways.

ALWAYS clean up after yourself, put your trash or recycle in appropriate receptacles

If you smoke, make sure you dispose of it properly, don’t drop it on the ground

Make sure your garbage containers are shut

If you bring your own trash to the dump, secure the load before driving

Participate in trash clean-up events

If you want to learn more about stormwater pollution and what you can do to help, please visit the City of Greeley

Stormwater Division.

Household Hazardous Waste Household hazardous waste is any substance containing ingredients that could cause negative effects to your health or the environment. You can bring your household chemical wastes to your local county household hazardous waste site. These types of programs accept all types of hazardous waste including: common household cleaners, batteries, paint, insecticides, weed killer, cooking oil, motor oil and other items. Also, it is generally free to use these programs if you live within that county. The household hazardous waste program also offers another program called drop-n-swap. This program will offer their usable products to everyone for free. After all, the best way to dispose of chemicals is to use them up as they were originally intended to be used. For more information, please contact the numbers below.

Weld County Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Larimer County Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Boulder County Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Weld County North Waste Facility

1311 North 17th Avenue

Greeley, CO

Open every Tuesday and Saturday

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Weld County South Waste Facility

5500 Highway 52

Dacono, CO

Open every Friday and Saturday

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Drop-n-Swap

1311 North 17th Avenue

Greeley, CO

Open the second Tuesday and the fourth

Saturday of each month

Larimer County Waste Facility

5887 S. Taft Hill Road

Fort Collins, CO

Open Monday—Saturday

8:00 a.m.— 4:30 p.m.

(Closed every Wednesday)

Boulder County

West of Boulder County Recycling

Center

1901 63rd St

Boulder, CO

Open Wednesday—Saturday

8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Don’t miss out on 2019’s National Prescription Takeback Day, this

October 26th from 10:00 AM—2:00 PM.

Flushing medicines and other substances down the toilet negatively impacts our water quality and thus the

environment we live in. Help protect our water, our wildlife, and our community as a whole by setting aside time

to properly dispose of your old pills.

MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT IS SIMPLE!

All you have to do is bring your old pharmaceuticals to one of these

locations:

UNC University Center, 2045 10th Ave., Greeley (Lower A-Lot)

Greeley Police Headquarters, 2875 W 10th St., Greeley

Sam’s Club Parking Lot , 3247 23rd Ave., Evans

Erie Police Department, 1000 Telleen Ave., Erie

Eaton Police Department, 180 S. Elm Ave., Eaton

Loveland Police Department, 810 E 10th St., Loveland

National Prescription Takeback Day

Flu season is upon us and there are some very simple ways to help avoid catching the illness but one of the most

important is simply washing our hands more frequently.

In a recent study conducted by the Bradely Corp., a manufacturer of commercial restroom and emergency safety

products, asked 1,264 U.S. adults about their handwashing habits at work and in public restrooms during the flu

season. Here’s what they found:

Seventy-three percent of participants said that they do a better job washing their hands in hopes of avoiding an

illness. That’s up from 45 percent in the initial survey conducted in 2009, when the H1N1 virus was a national

concern.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they believe washing with soap and water is more effective at killing

germs than using hand sanitizers – “a fact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention supports

unequivocally.”

Eighty-seven percent of the respondents reported washing their hands after using a public restroom. Some

reasons for not washing were sinks not working or not being clean.

Given these numbers it was found that actual

handwashing follow-through appears to fluctuate

depending on the prevalence and severity of flu

outbreaks. Even though it seems to fluctuate it’s

always a good rule of thumb to wash your hands

often especially during the flu season. This

simple routine can help us all stay healthy and

illness free during the long upcoming flu season.

When & How to Wash Your Hands—CDC

Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives

Handwashing Habits Improve during Flu Season

It is the mission of the Environmental Health and Safety Department to support university functions by promoting a safe and healthy campus environment for students, faculty, , staff and

visitors, as well as to provide professional guidance and direction toward compliance with University, Federal, State and local rules and regulations.

Parsons Hall

501 20th Street

Campus Box 57

Greeley, CO 80639

Phone: 970-351-2446

Bear in Mind (BIM) is a publication brought to you by your

campus Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS).

We are interested in your thoughts and submissions.

Contact the Environmental Health and Safety department at

970-351-1149. Suggestions can also be sent by campus mail

attention EHS, Campus Box 57. Bear in Mind issues are

published every quarter. Find current and archived issues

on-line at the EHS Website.

Holiday Safety Tips Autumn means that the holiday season is upon us. Bring

on the decorations, cheerful festivities, and sweet delicious

food! Holiday decorations around campus and throughout

the community seem to appear overnight. Although the

lights and décor are fantastic and awe inspiring, when the

proper precautions are not taken, holiday fun can end in tragedy. Follow these quick tips to stay safe and keep

the festivities running smoothly.

Safe Decorating

Keep your holiday tree full of water. A dry tree poses risk of fire.

Avoid injuries to pets by not decorating with things your pets might mistake for toys. For example, tinsel might

seem like a toy to cats but it can lead to a blocked digestive track or choking hazard.

Invest in UL listed LED lights as they tend to remain cooler than other types of holiday lights, are more energy

efficient and last longer.

Avoid overloading outlets, never daisy chain extension cords or power strips and follow manufacturer

recommendations for attaching string lights.

Do not run cords under carpets, rugs, through ceiling tiles or doorways.

Remember to turn off lights and other electrical decorations when they are not being attended.

Place combustible decorations away from sources of heat.

Food Safety

Wash hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before and after handling food.

Use a food thermometer to make sure meat, poultry, and fish are cooked to a safe internal temperature.

Allow the correct amount of time to properly thaw food. For example, a 20-pound turkey needs four to five

days to thaw completely when thawed in the refrigerator.

Leftovers should be used within 3 to 4 days.

UNC Environmental Health and Safety Holiday Safety Guidelines

National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) – Winter Holidays

Daylight Savings Ends On November 3, 2019 daylight saving time will end and clocks should

be set back one hour. Daylight saving time was started during World

War I to conserve energy and use as much day light as possible.

People continue to change clocks twice a year to keep with this

tradition. Most digital clocks will reset themselves, but remember to

change manual devices and fall back with the times.