Polysphère

Committed to Reducing the Polytechnique’s Ecological Footprint

Judging by the Polysphère group’s creative energy, Mother Nature can rely on the students at the École Polytechnique for protection. For five years, Polysphère has brilliantly defended the environmental cause and has even succeeded in convincing the most resistant minds of the relevance of its actions. You just have to set eyes on the colossal guzzler of recyclable material that occupies pride of place at the school to understand what makes the members of this group tick.

The multi-material recycling island established recently by the students obviously catches the attention of passers-by. Although the recycling of paper, glass, plastic and metal was already well established at the École, this was just not enough for the members of Polysphère, whose minds are bursting with ingenuity. Starting with a 240-litre recycling bin, they came up with the idea of designing a multifunctional box for collecting glasses, ink cartridges, batteries and CDs for recycling. And as if this was still not enough, they added a wire cage for salvaging used computer equipment.

Since the official inauguration in fall 2007, the recycling area has been a tremendous success, so much so that the different compartments have to be emptied several times a month. The concept, which is probably unique in Québec, could perhaps be taken up by others. “The island’s design aroused the interest of other universities at a committee meeting held during the Conférence des recteurs et des principaux des universités du Québec (CREPUQ) and it could be duplicated elsewhere,” points out Christophe Guy, executive director of the École Polytechnique de Montréal.

The creation of the recycling island is but one of many concrete actions undertaken by the Polysphère committee since it was founded. An Environment Week with public speakers, a recycling and fair trade awareness kiosk and a car-sharing bulletin board - the initiatives are varied and touch on virtually all aspects of the environmental cause. “All the projects are linked by one guiding principle: to improve the environmental performance of the École Polytechnique student community, by both reducing the ecological footprint of the activities held on campus and by raising awareness among those who attend the school,” asserts Polysphère member Pierre-Luc Soucy.

And to do so, the students are not short of ideas. For example, to encourage the use of alternative means of transportation on campus, last year the committee launched a self-service bike project. From June to November, the demand was so strong that Polysphère had to increase its fleet of bicycles.

The group also continued to develop its highly appreciated loan service of dishes for happy hours. Last year alone, the trolley of dishes consisting of 80 place settings (plates, cutlery and glasses) was borrowed forty or so times, saving about 5,000 disposable place settings from being used.

And that’s not all. Polysphère has decided to tackle the issue of the disposable cups and plates used in the school cafeteria. The committee, in collaboration with the food concessionary and the school administration, are currently discussing possible solutions to make their cafeteria more eco-friendly.

Polysphère